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Microfiche 

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Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions 


Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n^cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

"THIS   BOOK   CAME   LIKE  A    GODSEND."- Whittier. 


LIFE  AT  PUGET  SOUND, 

WITH 

Sketches  of  Travel  in  Washington  Territory,  British  Columbia,  Oregon,  and  California, 

1863-1881. 
By  CAROLINE  C.  LEIGHTON. 

Cloth,  gilt  top,  flMO. 
Of  vhis  book  

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER  WRITES: 
"This  book  came  like  a  GodHeiul.  tSiiut  iiidooiH  by  the  weatiior,  T 
have  |t;ioatiy  enjoyed  ilH  charniiiig  iiairativeH  and  Ix'antiful  iJcn-picUires. 
J  had  juHt  had  a  visit  from  a  friend  wlio  lives  in  Salom,  Ore.,  and  was 
thinking  a  great  deal  about  the  Pacilic  coast,  when  '  Life  at  I'ugct  Sound  ' 
came  opportunely.  1  have  had  no  j)leasaiiter  reading  for  a  long  time. 
"The  book  cannot  be  too  highly  praised." — John  G.  W/iittier. 

WENDELL    PHILLIPS 

The  following  note,  one  of  the  last  from  thai  ever  facile  pen,  is  doubly 
interesting,  showing  Mr.  Philli])s's  high  ai)preciation  of  the  book  from  a 
literary  stand-i)oint,  and  also  his  alertness  to  discover  everywhere  help 
for  the  friendless  and  downtrodden.  Boston.  Jan.  '23,  1HH4. 

Dear  Madam,  —  Your  chapters  on  "  Paget  Sound  "  have  charmed  me, 
—  full  of  life,  deei)ly  interesting,  and  with  just  that  class  of  fa<;tsand  sug- 
gestions of  truth  that  cannot  fail  to  help  the  Indian  and  the  Chinese.  In 
tlieir  nanie,  and  for  humanity's  sake,  I  thank  you.  For  myself,  1  have 
riclily  enjoyed  some  hours  of  most  (Kligluful  reading. 

Mrs.  C.  C.  Leiguton.  Yours,  WENDELL  PHILLIPS. 

Col.    T.  W.    HIGGINSON    SAYS: 
"  •  Life  at  Puget  Sound  '  is,  in  my  judgment^  the  most  delightful  out- 
door book  i)roducod  in  America  for  ten  years.     ]'\)r  the  first  time  we  see 
the  great  North-West  through  the  eyes  of  a  woman,  thoroughly  cultivated, 
thoroughly  adventurous,  and  thoronghSy  humane." 

JAMES    PARTON, 

THE   HISTORIAN    A.NU    BIOOHAl'HKK,  SAYS  : 

"Mrs.  Loighton  gives  us  the  poetry  of  things  as  well  as  the  prose.  On 
nearly  every  page  of  her  book,  there  is  a  picture  bo  striking  and  bo  new 
that  it  only  needs  painting  to  be  famous." 

Dr.   A.  P.    PEABODY 

OF   HARVAUD    UNIVERSITY,    WRITES: 

"I  am  delighted  with  it.  It  manifests  great  descriptive  power,  and 
covers  ground  of  which  I  knew  very  little.  It  is  not  only  admirably,  but 
winuiugly,  written,  and  cannot  but  attract  readers." 

FRANCIS    H.    UNDERWOOD. 

AUTHOR   OF   "HANDBOOK   OF   ENGLISH    LITKRATURE,"    SAY8  : 

"TWb  book  is  a  treasure." 

THE    NEW-YORK    TRIBUNE    SAYS: 
•*  She  has  made  a  little  book  which  has  a  winning  charm ;  " 
And  ll^e  entire  American  Press  echoes  that  opinion. 


♦»♦  Sold  by  all  booksellers,  or  vmileil  postpaitf,  to  any  address,  on 
receipt  of  2)rice,  by  t  -e  publishers, 

LEE    &    SHEPARD,   Boston. 


LIFE  AT  PUGET  SOUND 


wrrii 


SKETCHES  OF  TRAVEL 


IN 


WASHINGTON  TERRITORY,   BRITISPI  COLUMBIA, 
OREGON,  AND  CALIFORNIA 

18G5-1881 


BY 


CAROLINE  C.  LEIGHTON 


BOSTON 
LEE    AND    SIIEPARD,    RUBLISHERS 

NEW  YORK 

CHARLES   T.    DILLINGHAM 

1884 


234630 


OoPTBiaHT,  1883, 
By  lee  and  SHEPARD. 


All  riff  fits  reserved. 


PEEFACE. 


The  following  selections  from  observations  and 
experiences  during  a  residence  of  sixteen  years  on 
the  Pacific  Coast,  while  they  do  not  claim  to  de- 
scribe fully  that  portion  of  the  country,  nor  to 
give  any  account  of  its  great  natural  wealth  and 
resources,  yet  indicate  something  of  its  character- 
istic features  and  attractions,  more  especially  those 
of  the  Puget  Sound  region. 

This  remote  corner  of  our  territory,  hitherto 
almost  unknown  to  the  country  at  large,  is  rap- 
idly coming  into  prominence,  and  is  now  made 
easy  of  access  by  the  completion  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad.  The  vast  inland  sea,  popularly 
known  as  Puget  Sound,  ramifying  in  various  direc- 
tions, the  wide-spreading  and  majestic  forests,  the 
ranges  of  snow-capped  mountains  on  either  side, 
the  mild  and  equable  climate,  and  the  diversified 

lii 


iv 


PREFACE. 


resources  of  this  favored  region,  excite  the  aston- 
ishment and  admiration  of  all  beholders.  To  the 
lovers  of  tlie  grand  and  beautiful,  unmarred  as  yet 
by  any  human  interference,  who  appreciate  the 
freedom  from  conventionalities  which  pertain  to 
longer-settled  portions  of  the  globe,  it  presents  an 
endless  field  for  observation  and  enjoyment.  There 
is  already  a  steady  stream  of  emigration  to  this 
new  "  land  of  promise,"  and  every  thing  seems  to 
indicate  for  it  a  vigorous  growth  and  development, 
and  a  brilliant  and  substantial  future. 


COJS^TEJSTTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

At  Sea.-Mariguana  Island.  -  Sea-Birds.  -  Shipwreck 
-LifeonKoucador  Reef. -The  Reseue.  -  Isthmus 
oOauama.- Voyage  to  San  Francisco.  -  The  New 

CHAPTER  II. 

Port  Angeles.  -  Indian  ' '  Hunter  "  and  his  Wife.  -  Sail- 
or s  Fimeral.  -  Incantation.  -  Indian  Graves.  - 
?rn7i  ^^?^"^"«--^Ii"-S'^«I^'«ents.-Port  Gamhle 
Irai  .-Canoe  Travel.-The  Memaloost. -Tommy 
and  his  Mother. -Olympic  Range. -Ediz  Hook  - 

Crowr'  iT  ^^^"^^— G-nd  Indian  Wedlg. 
—  Crows  and  Indians      .... 

CHAPTER  III. 

^"''Fw'if  ^f*^^^--^^«g«  ^nd  Indians. -Spring 

t  w  '  l^""'}^?'^'^^^- 1"*^^^"  ^^^^^^-  -  From  Seat. 
Ill  ^^  ^°^^'^il«-- Crossing  the  Columbia  River 
±5ar.-The  River  and  its  Surroundings. -Its  For- 
mer Magnitude. -The  Grande  Coulee. -Early  Ex- 
plorers, Hecota,  Meares.  Vancouver,  Grey. -Curl- 

WalU  Walla, -Sage -Brush  and  Bunch- Grass. - 

V 


Paqb 


18 


Vi  CONTENTS. 

Flowers  in  the  Desert.  —  "  Stick  "  Indians.  —  Klick- 
atats.  —  Spokane  Indian.  —  Snakes.  —  Dead  Chiefs. 
— A  Kamas  Field.  —  Basaltic  Bouks    .       •       .        . 


Pagb 


38 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Two  Hundred  Miles  on  the  Upper  Columbia.  —  Steamer 
"  Forty -nine."  —  Navigation  in  a  Canon  —  Pend 
d'Oreille  River  and  Lake.  —  Rock-Paintings.  —  Trib- 
utaries of  the  Upper  Columbia.  —  Arrow  Lakes. — 
Kettle  Falls.  —  Salmon-Catching.  —  Salmon-Dance. 
—  Goose-Dauce 


G3 


CHAPTER  V. 

Old  Fort  Colville.  —  Angus  McDonald  and  his  Indian 
Family.  —  Canadian  Voyar/eurs.  —  Father  Joseph. — 
Hardships  of  the  Early  Missionaries.  —  The  Coours 
d'Alene  and  their  Superstitions.  —  The  Catholic 
Ladder.  —  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  —  Skill  of  the 
Missionaries  in  instructing  the  Indians.  —  Father  de 
Smet  and  the  Blackfeet. — A  Native  Dance. — Spo- 
kanes.  —  Exclusiveness  of  the  Cceurs  d'Alene.  — 
Battle  of  Four  Lakes.  —  The  Yakima  Chief  and  the 
Road-Makers 75 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Colville  to  Seattle.  —  "  Red."  —  •'  Ferrins."  —  "  Broke 
Miners."  —  A  Rare  Fellow-Travoller.  —  The  Bell- 
Mare.  —  Pelouse  Fall.  —  Red-fox  Road.  —  Early  Cal- 
ifornians.  —  Frying-pan  Incense.  —  Dragon-Flies.  — 
Death  of  the  Chief  Seattle 93 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Port  Angeles  Village  and  the  Indian  Ranch.  —  A 
"  Ship's  Klootchman."  —  Indian  Muck  -a-  Muck.  — 
Disposition  of  an  Old  Indian  Woman.  — A  Windy 


CONTENTS. 


Vll 

Paoe 


Trip  to  Victoria.  —  Tho  Black  Tamnhnous.  —  'McTfon- 
ald's  in  the  Wildorneas.  —  Th(!  Wild  Cowlitz.  —  Up 
tho  River  (luring  a  Flood.  —  Indian  Boatmen.  — 
Birch-bark  and  Cedar  Canoes 109 


CHAPTER   Viri. 

Voyage  to  San  Francisco.  —  Fog-bound.  —  Port  Angeles. 

—  Pas.siiig  Cape  Flattery  in  p.  Storm.  —  Off  Shore.  — 
The  "  Brontes."— The  Captain  and  his  Men.  —  A 
Fair  Wind.  —  San  Francisco  Bar.  —  The  City  at 
Night.  —Voyage  to  Astoria.  —  Crescent  City.  —  Iron- 
bound  Coast.  —  Mount  St.  Helen's.  —  Mount  Hood. 

—  Cowlitz  Valley  and  its  Floods.  —  Monticello  . 


124 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Victoria.  —  Its  Mountain  Views,  Rocks,  and  Flowers. — 
Vancouver's  Admiration  of  the  Island.  —  San  Juan 
Islands.  —  Sir  James  Douglas.  —  Indian  Wives.  — 
Northern  Indians.  —  Indian  Workmanship.  —  The 
Thimder-bird.  —  Indian  Offerings  to  the  Spirit  of  a 
Child.  —  Pioneers.  —  Crows  and  Sea-Birds .        •       . 


137 


CHAPTER  X. 

Puget  Sound  and  Adjacent  Waters.  —  Its  Early  Explo- 
rers.— Towns,  Harbors,  and  Channels.— Vancouver's 
Nomenclature.  —  Juan  de  Fuca. — Mount  Baker. 
—  Chinese  "  Wing."  —  Ancient  Indian  Women.  — 
Pink  Flowering  Currant  and  Humming-Birds. — 
"Ah  Sing." 161 


CHAPTER  XT. 

Rocky-mountain  Region.  —  Railroad  from  Colnmbia 
River  to  Puget  Sound.  —  Mountain  Clianges.  — Mix- 
ture of  Nationalities.  —  Journey  to  Coos  Bay,  Ore- 
gon. —  Mountain  Canon.  —  A  Branch  of  the  Coquille. 


VUl 


CONTENTS. 


rAQS 


—  Empire  City. —Myrtlo  Grove.  — Yaquina  —Gen- 
ial Dwellers  in  the  Woods.  — Our  Unknown  N«Mgli- 
"bor.  —  Wliales.  — Pet  Seal  and  Eagle. —  A  Mourning 
Mother.  —  Visit  from  Yeomana 165 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Puget  Sound  to  San  Francisco.  —  A  Model  Vessel.  — 
The  Captain's  Relation  to  his  Men.  —Rough  Water. 

—  Beauty  of  the  Sea. —  Golden-gate  Entrance. — 
San  Francisco  Streets.  —  Santa  Barbara.  —  Its  Inva- 
lids.—  Our  Spanish  Neighbors.  —  The  Mountains 
and  the  Bay.  —  Kelp.  —  Old  Mission.  —  A  Simoom.  — 
The  Channel  Islands.  —  A  New  Type  of  Chinamen. 

—  An  Old  Spanish  House 182 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Otir  Aerie.— The  Bay  and  the  Hills.  —  The  Little 
Gnome.  —  Eartlupiake.  —  Temporary  Residents. — 
The  Trade-Wind.  —  Seal-Rocks.  —  Farallon  Islands. 

—  Exhilarating  Air.  —  Approach  of  Summer.  —  Cen- 
tennial Procession.  —  Suicides.  — Mission  Dolores. — 
Father  Pedro  Font  and  his  Expedition.  —  The  Mis- 
sion Indians.  —  Chinese  Feast  of  the  Dead.  —  Curi- 
ous Weather 199 


CHAPTER  XIV.     . 

Quong.  —  His  Prot4g4.  —  His  Peace-Offering.  —  The  Chi- 
nese and  their  Grandmothers. — Ancient  Ideas. — 
Irish,  French,  and  Spanish  Chinamen.  —  Chinese 
Ingenuity.  —  Hostility  against  the  Chinese.  —  Their 
Proclamations.  —  Discriminations  against  them. — 
Their  Evasion  of  the  Law.  —  Their  Perseverance 
agtiinst  all  Obstacles.  —  Their  Reverence  for  their 
Ancestors,  and  Fear  of  the  Dead. — Their  Medical 
Knowledge.  —  Their  Belief  in  the  Future.  —  Their 
Curious  Festivals.  —  Indian  Names  for  the  MontliB. 


LOB 


L65 


CONTENTS. 


Paob 


.220 

CIIArTER  XV. 

1  Olson  Oak. -Sturdy  Trees.  -  Bal.y  Li/ards - 
Old  Alameda.  -  Emperor  Norton.  -  California  nl 
erosity.  -  The    Dead    Newsbov         ^'"^""a  Gen- 
the  Go.,.,™,    K„„   ^..-ZLZtZr^Z 
Moouaad  Flowers. -A  sum  W.-..Uwr.       .       !   243 


92 


LIFE  AT  PUGET  SOUND. 


I. 


At  Sea.  —  Mariguana  Island.  —  Sea-Birds.  —  Shipwreck.— 
Life  on  Roncador  Reef.  — Tlie  Rescue.  —  Isthmus  of  Pana- 
ma. —  Voyage  to  San  Francisco.  —  The  New  Baby. 

Atlantic  Ocean,  May  26, 1865. 

IT  is  a  great  experience  to  feel  the  loneliness 
of  the  sea,  —  to  see  the  whole  circle  of  the 
heavens,  and  nothing  under  it  but  the  rising 
and  falling  water,  from  morning  till  night,  day 
after  day. 

The  first  night  we  were  out  the  porpoises 
came  up  at  twilight,  and  sported  round  the  ves- 
sel. I  saw  some  sea-birds  tiiat  seemed  to  be 
playing,  —  running  and  sliding  on  the  green, 
glassy  waves.  In  the  wake  of  the  vessel  were 
most  beautiful  changing  colors.  Little  Nelly 
S.  sat  with  IS  to  watch  the  phosphorescence. 
She  said,  "•  The  stars  in  the  sea  call  to  me,  with 
little  fine  voices,  'Nelly,  Nelly,  are  you  alive?'  " 


2  MARI GUANA  ISLAND. 

May  27, 1865. 

We  have  had  our  first  sight  of  land,  —  Mari- 
guana,  a  coral  island,  one  of  the  Bahamas. 
Every  one  stood  in  ^silence  to  see  it,  it  was  so 
beautiful.  The  spray  dashed  so  high,  that,  as 
it  fell,  we  at  first  took  it  for  streams  and  cas- 
cades. It  was  just  at  sunrise ;  and  we  cast  long- 
ing looks  at  the  soft  green  hills,  bathed  in  light. 
Now  it  is  gone,  and  we  have  only  the  wide  ocean 
again.  But  a  new  color  has  appeared  in  the 
water,  —  a  purplish  pink,  which  looks  very  trop- 
ical ;  and  there  are  blotches  of  yellow  seaweed. 
Some  of  it  caught  in  the  wheel,  and  stopped  it. 
The  sailors  drew  it  up,  and  gave  it  to  the  chil- 
dren to  taste.  It  was  like  a  little  fruit,  and 
they  say  the  birds  eat  it. 

The  sea  is  growing  quite  rough.  I  was  think- 
ing of  being  a  little  afraid,  the  vessel  plunged 
so ;  but  Mother  Gary's  chickens  came  out,  and 
I  thought  I  might  as  well  consider  myself  as 
one  of  them,  and  not  in  any  more  danger  than 
they  are. 

Caribbean  Sea,  May  28, 1865. 
We  have  had  a  great  experience  of  really 
rough  weather.  The  spray  dashed  over  the 
deck,  and  only  the  hardiest  could  keep  up.  Any 
one  who  tried  to  move  was  thrown  off  his  feet. 
l*reparations  were  made  for  divine  service  by 


i 


SEA-BIRDS.  3 

lashing  two  boxes  together  in  the  middle  of  the 
deck,  and  spreading  a  flag  over  them.  It  was 
conducted  by  a  Scotch  Presbyterian  minister. 
As  he  began  his  prayer,  he  received  quite  an 
addition  to  his  congregation,  in  a  flock  of  great 
birds,  that  appeared  on  my  side  of  the  vessel. 
They  wheeled  round,  and  settled  down  softly 
together.  I  do  not  know  what  they  are,  but 
suppose  they  are  gulls  of  some  kind.  They 
have  long,  narrow  wings,  brown,  with  a  little 
black,  and  snow-white  underneath.  I  am  half 
inclined  to  envy  these  wild,  soulless  creatures, 
that  know  no  fear. 


BONCADOR  Reef,  June  5, 18G5. 

On  Tuesday  morning,  May  30,  between  three 
and  four  o'clock,  we  were  awakened  by  the 
sharp  stroke  of  the  engine-bell,  a  deep  grinding 
sound,  and  the  sudden  stopping  of  the  vessel. 
We  knew  that  we  had  not  arrived  at  our  port 
of  destination,  and  felt  instinctively  that  some- 
thing extraordinary  had  happened.  For  a  mo- 
ment all  was  silence  ;  then  inquiries  arose  from 
all  sides,  as  to  what  was  the  matter.  The  engine 
seemed  to  be. in  a  great  state  of  commotion ;  and 
the  vessel  began  to  writhe  with  a  heavy,  labori- 
ous movement,  as  if  attempting  to  free  herself 
from  the  grasp  of  some  monster.     We  dressed 


■ 


4  SHIPWRECK. 

hastily,  and  went  into  the  cabin,  where  we  found 
a  good  many  of  the  passengers,  and  learned  that 
the  vessel  had  struck  on  a  coral-reef.  We  put 
on  life-preservers,  and  sat  waiting  until  daylight, 
expecting  every  moment  the  vessel  would  split. 
As  soon  as  it  was  light  enough,  we  went  upon 
deck,  and  saw  the  sailors  cut  away  the  masts 
and  smoke-stacks,  which  went  over  the  side  of 
the  ship.  The  water  dashed  over  the  deck,  so 
that  we  were  obliged  to  go  below.  It  seemed 
there  as  if  we  were  under  the  ocean,  with  the 
water  breaking  over  our  lieads.  Chandeliers, 
glasses,  and  other  movnble  articles  were  crash- 
ing together  around  us.  The  cabin  was  filled 
with  people,  quietly  sitting,  ready  for  they  knew 
not  what.  But  among  all  the  seven  hundred 
passengers  there  was  no  shrieking  nor  crj^ng 
nor  groaning,  except  from  the  little  children, 
who  were  disturbed  by  the  noise  and  discomfort. 
How  well  they  met  the  expectation  of  death ! 
Faces  that  I  had  passed  as  most  ordinary,  fasci- 
nated me  by  their  quiet,  firm  mouths,  and  eyes 
so  beautiful,  I  knew  it  must  be  the  soul  I  saw 
looking  through  them.  Some  parties  of  Swedish 
emigrants  took  out  their  little  prayer-books, 
and  sat  clasping  each  other's  hands,  and  read- 
ing them.  A  missionary  bound  for  Micronesia 
handed  out  his  tracts  in  all  directions,  but  no 


SHIPWRECK. 


5 


one  took  much  notice  of  them.  Generally,  each 
one  seemed  to  feel  that  he  could  meet  death 
alone,  and  in  his  own  wa^.   ^ 

In  the  afternoon  a  faint  semblance  of  land 
was  seen  off  on  the  horizon,  and  a  boat  was  sent 
out  to  explore.  It  was  gone  a  long  time,  and 
as  night  approached  was  anxiously  looked  for. 
Just  about  dark,  it  appeared  in  sight.  As  it 
drew  near,  we  saw  the  men  in  it  waving  their 
hats,  and  heard  them  shouting,  by  which  we 
knew  they  had  succeeded  in  finding  land.  The 
men  on  the  vessel  gave  a  hearty  response,  but 
the  women  could  not  keep  back  their  tears. 

That  night  the  women  and  children  were 
lowered  with  ropes,  over  the  side  of  the  vessel, 
into  boats,  and  taken  to  a  raft  near  by,  hastily 
constructed  on  the  rocks  at  the  surface  of  the 
water,  from  loose  spars,  stateroom-doors,  and 
such  other  available  material  as  could  be  secured 
from  the  vessel.  All  night  long  we  lay  there, 
watching  the  dim  outline  of  the  ship,  which 
still  had  the  men  on  board,  as  she  rose  and  fell 
with  each  wave,  —  the  engine-bell  tolling  with 
every  shock.  The  lights  that  hung  from  the 
side  of  the  vessel  increased  the  wild,  funereal 
appearance  of  every  thing  about  us.  They 
continually  advanced  and  receded,  and  seemed 
to  motion  us  to  follow  them.     There  was  a 


6 


LANDING   ON  RON C A  DOR  REEF. 


'i^i' 


strange  fascination  about  them,  which  I  could 
not  resist;  and  I  watched  them  through  the 
whole  night. 

At  daylight  the  next  morning  the  ship's 
boats  began  to  take  us  over  to  the  island  dis- 
covered the  day  before,  wlvich  was  slightly  ele- 
vated above  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  about 
four  mxles  distant  from  the  wreck.  As  we  ap- 
proached the  shore,  some  new  birds,  unlike  any  I 
had  seen  before,  —  indolent-looking,  quiet,  and 
amiable,  —  flew  out,  and  hovered  over  the  boat, 
peering  down  at  us,  as  if  inquiring  what 
strange  creatures  were  about  to  invade  their 
home.  Probably  the}^  had  never  seen  any  hu- 
man Ijeings  before.  The  sailors  said  they  were 
"  boobies ;  "  and  they  certainly  appeared  very 
unsophisticated,  and  quite  devoid  of  the  wit 
and  sprightliness  of  most  birds. 

Only  a  few  persons  could  be  landed  at  a  time, 
and  I  wandered  about  at  first  almost  alone.  It 
was  two  days  before  all  the  passengers  were 
transferred.  Every  thing  was  so  new  and 
strange,  that  I  felt  as  if  I  had  been  carried 
off  to  another  planet ;  and  it  certainly  was  a 
great  experience,  to  walk  over  a  portion  of  the 
globe  just  as  it  was  made,  and  wholly  unaltered 
by  man. 

I  thought  of  an  accoui^t  of  a  wreck  on  this 


LIFE  ON  RONCADOR  REEF.  7 

same  water  I  had  once  read,  in  which  the  Carib- 
bean was  spoken  of  as  the  most  beautiful 
though  most  treaclierous  of  seas,  and  the  in- 
tensity of  color  was  mentioned.  Such  rose- 
color  I  never  saw  before  as  in  the  shells  and 
mosses  we  find  here,  nor  such  lovely  pale  and 
green  tints  as  the  water  all  about  us  shows. 

We  have  been  here  on  this  bare  reef  six  days, 
with  the  breakers  all  around  us,  and  do  not 
know  whether  we  shall  get  off  or  not.  We 
amuse  ourselves  every  morning  with  looking  at 
the  pert  little  birds,  as  queer  as  the  boobies, 
though  quite  different  from  them,  that  sit  and 
nod  to  each  other  incessantly,  and  give  each 
other  little  hits  with  their  bills,  as  if  these  were 
their  morning  salutations,  —  a  rough  way  of  ask- 
ing after  each  other's  health. 


San  Francisco,  July  2, 1865. 

We  are  safely  here  at  last,  after  forty-two 
days'  passage,  —  longer  than  the  children  of 
Israel  were  in  the  wilderness.  When  we  return 
i»t  will  be  by  a  wagon-train,  if  the  Pacific  Rail- 
road is  not  done. 

When  we  landed  on  Roncador  Roef,  we  had 
no  data  for  conjecturing  where  we  were,  ex- 
cept that  we  remembered  passing  the  island  of 
Jamaica  at  twilight  on  the  evening  preceding 


8 


LIFE   ON  RONCADOR  REEF. 


the  wreck.  We  were  afterwards  informed  that 
the  vessel  was  seized  by  a  strong  current,  and 
borne  far  away  from  her  proper  course.  How 
gay  we  were  that  night,  with  our  music  and 
dancing,  exhilarated  all  the  more  by  the  swift- 
ness of  the  white,  rushing  water  that  drove  v 
on  to  our  fate ! 

The  heat  on  the  island  was  so  intense,  that 
our  greatest  necessity  was  for  some  shelter  from 
the  sun.  The  only  materials  which  the  place 
furnished  us  were  rocks  of  coral,  with  which  we 
built  up  walls,  over  which  were  spread  pieces 
of  sail  fr  m  the  vessel.  We  lived  in  these 
lodges,  in  little  companies.  We  sat  together  in 
ours  in  the  daytime,  and  could  not  leave  our 
shelter  for  a  moment  without  feeling  as  if  we 
were  sunstruck.  Every  night  we  abandoned  it, 
and  slept  out  on  the  rocks;  but  the  frequent 
little  showers  proved  so  uncomfortable  that  we 
were  driven  to  great  extremity  to  devise  some 
covering.  R.'s  ingenuity  proved  equal  to  the 
emergency.  He  secured  an  opportunity  to  visit 
the  vessel  (which  held  together  for  some  days) 
In  one  of  the  boats  which  were  continually  ply- 
ing between  her  and  the  island,  bringing  over 
all  available  stores.  All  the  mattresses  and 
other  bedding  that  could  be  secured  had  been 
distributed,  mostly  to  the  mothers  and  children. 


LIFE  ON  RON C A  DOR  REEF. 


9 


His  penetrating  eye  detected  the  materials  for 
a  coverlet  in  the  strips  of  painted  canvas  nailed 
to  the  deck.  He  managed  without  tools  to  tear 
off  some  pieces,  and,  by  untwisting  some  tarred 
rope,  to  fasten  them  together;  thus  providing 
a  quilt,  which,  if  not  comfortable,  was  at  least 
waterproof,  and  served  to  draw  over  us  when  a 
sliower  came  on.  It  was  no  p;otection,  how- 
ever, against  the  crabs,  large  and  small,  that 
used  to  crawl  under  it,  and  eat  pieces  out  of 
our  clothes,  and  even  our  boots,  while  we  were 
asleep.  These  crabs  were  of  the  hermit  order. 
Each  one,  from  the  minutest  to  the  largest, 
had  taken  possession  of  the  empty  shell  of  some 
other  creature,  exactly  large  enough  for  him, 
and  walked  about  with  it  on  his  back,  and  drew 
himself  snugly  into  it  when  molested.  Every 
little  crevice  in  the  rocks  had  a  white  or  speck- 
led Qg^  in  it  when  we  landed,  and  from  these 
we  made  a  few  good  meals.  The  one  day  the 
women  spent  on  the  island  alone  with  the  birds 
passed  in  the  most  friendly  manner ;  but  after 
the  men  and  boj^s  came,  the  larger  ones  aban- 
doned us. 

We  felt  sorry  not  to  bring  away  some  of  the 
beautiful  shells  which  were  plentiful  there,  and 
more  gorgeous  than  any  thing  I  ever  saw  before. 
While  the  living  creature  is  in  them,  they  are 


10 


LIFE  ON  RONCADOR  REEF. 


II 


much  brighter  than  after  it  is  dead ;  and  in  the 
length  of  time  it  takes  to  bring  them  from  tropi- 
cal countries,  they  fade  almost  like  flowers. 
Mrs.  S.  was  so  enterprising,  and,  I  must  say, 
so  una3sthetic,  as  to  try  to  concoct  a  meal  from 
tlie  occupants  of  some  of  the  large  conch-shells 
taken  from  the  beach,  cooking  it  for  a  consider- 
able length  of  time  in  a  large  brass  kettle,  tlie 
only  available  utensil.  Those  who  partook  of 
it  in  our  little  group  had  cause  to  repent  of  their 
rashness ;  but  we  did  not  like  to  charge  the  in- 
jury to  the  lovely  creatures  which  were  sacri- 
ficed for  this  feast,  preferring  to  "  blame  it  on  " 
to  the  brass  kettle,  as  the  California  children 
would  express  it.  The  more  cautious  ones 
contented  themselves  with  their  two  sea-bis- 
cuits and  fragment  of  beef  or  pork  per  day, 
which  were  the  regular  rations  served  to  each 
from  the  stores  saved  from  the  ship.  Some 
surface  water,  found  among  the  rocks,  was 
carefully  guarded,  and  sparingly  dealt  out. 

After  we  had  been  four  or  five  days  on  the 
island,  two  of  the  ship's  boats  were  sent  out  to 
seek  assistance,  manned  by  volunteer  crews ; 
one  headed  for  Aspinwall,  which  was  tliought 
to  be  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant, 
and  the  other  to  search  for  what  was  supposed 
to  be  the  nearest  land. 


THE  RESCUE. 


11 


Very  early  on  the  morning  of  the  tenth  clay 
we  heard  the  cry  of  "  A  sail !  "  We  started  up 
from  our  rocky  beds,  and  stood,  without  daring 
to  speak.  There  was  a  little  upright  shadow, 
about  as  large  as  a  finger,  against  the  sky. 
Every  eye  was  turned  to  it,  but  no  one  yet 
dared  to  confirm  it;  and,  even  if  it  were  a  sail, 
thuse  on  board  the  vessel  might  not  see  our 
island,  it  was  so  low,  or  our  flag  of  distress,  as 
we  had  nothing  on  which  to  raise  it  very  high. 
We  stood  for  several  minutes,  without  daring 
to  look  at  each  other  with  the  consciousness 
that  we  were  saved.  We  presently  saw  that 
there  were  two  little  schooners  beating  up 
against  the  wind,  directly  towards  us,  and  that 
they  carried  the  red  English  flag.  They  had 
been  catching  turtles  on  the  Mosquito  Coast. 
As  soon  as  our  boat  reached  them,  they  unloaded 
their  turtles  (which  occupied  them  a  day),  with 
the  exception  of  three  large  ones  which  they 
reserved  for  us,  and  then  started  at  once. 

These  small  vessels  were  unequal  to  carrying 
away  half  the  people  on  the  island,  and  they 
had  no  arrangements  for  the  comfort  of  passen- 
gers. A  considerable  number  decided  to  em- 
bark on  them,  and  commenced  doing  so ;  while 
the  larger  part  of  the  company  remained  on  the 
spot,  to  take  their  chance  of  escape  in  some 


12 


THE  RESCUE. 


1     ! 


other  way,  since  communication  with  the  world 
was  now  established. 

The  next  day  we  were  all  rejoiced  by  the 
appearance  of  two  United-States  gunboats  from 
A  spin  wall,  wliich  point  was  reached  by  our 
other  boat,  after  a  rough  experience ;  the  waves 
liaving  capsized  her  during  the  passage,  and 
swallowed  up  the  provisions  and  nautical  in- 
struments. 

It  was  then  decided  that  all  the  company 
should  be  taken  to  Aspinwall  by  the  United- 
States  vessels,  and  their  boats  and  ours  were  at 
once  put  to  service  in  transferring  the  people 
from  the  island ;  who,  as  they  gathered  up  such 
fragments  of  their  property  as  had  been  rescued 
from  the  wreck,  and  tied  it  up  in  bedquilts  or 
blankets,  shouldered  their  bundles,  and  moved 
slowly  down  to  the  point  of  departure,  —  their 
garments  weather-stained  and  crab-eaten,  some 
of  them  without  shoes  or  hats,  and  all  with 
much-bronzed  faces, — presented  a  picturesque 
and  beggarly  appearance,  in  striking  contrast 
to  their  aspect  before  the  wreck. 

We  were  treated  with  the  greatest  kindness 
by  every  one  connected  with  the  gunboats. 
They  took  us  in  their  arms,  and  carried  us  into 
the  boats,  and  stood  all  night  beside  us,  offering 
ice-water  and  wine.    They  greatly  bewailed  our 


I 


1 


THE  RESCUE. 


18 


world 

by  the 
ts  from 
by  our 
1  waves 
je,  and 
ical  in- 

)Tnpany 
United- 
were  at 

people 
Lip  such 
rescued 
uilts  or 

moved 
their 

I,  some 
111  with 
nresque 
lontrast 


misfortunes,  and  told  us,  that,  when  they  heard 
of  our  condition,  they  put  on  every  pound  of 
steam  the  vessels  would  bear,  in  order  to  reach 
us  as  speedily  as  possible,  fearing  that  some 
greater  calamity  might  befall  us,  —  that  our  suj)- 
ply  of  water  might  entirely  fail,  or  that  the 
trade-wind  might  change,  and  a  storm  bring 
the  sea  over  the  island.  They  told  us,  too,  that 
we  were  very  far  off  the  track  of  vessels;  and,  if 
our  boats  had  failed  to  bring  succor,  in  all  prob- 
ability no  one  would  ever  have  como  there  in 
search  of  us. 

TJie  two  schooners  decided  to  remain  a  while, 
and  wreck  the  vessel.  As  we  steamed  away 
from  the  reef,  we  passed  her  huge  skeleton  upon 
the  rocks,  the  bell  still  hanging  to  the  iron  part 
of  the  frame. 

On  the  second  day  we  reached  Aspinwall,  and 
disembarked.  As  we  sat  on  the  wharf,  in  little 
groups,  on  pieces  of  lumber  or  on  our  bundles, 
waiting  for  arrangements  to  be  made  for  our 
transportation  across  the  Isthmus,  a  black  man, 
employed  there,  fixed  his  eye  upon  our  dark- 
skinned  Julia,  and,  approaching,  asked  if  she 
''got  free  in  the  Linkum  war."  I  told  him 
that  she  did,  and  asked  him  where  he  came 
from.  He  said  he  was  from  Jamaica ;  and  I 
said,  "  I  suppose  you  have  been  free  a  long 


fmrn 


14 


ISTHMUS   OF  PANAMA. 


time?"  to  which  h(3  replied,  with  great  energy, 
"  Before  I  was  born,  I  was  free,"  and  repeated 
it  again  and  again,  —  "  before  I  was  born." 

We  found  that  Julia,  to  whom  all  things  were 
new  in  the  land  of  freedom,  thought  that  the 
island  where  we  spent  so  many  days  was  a  regu- 
lar stopping-place  on  the  way  to  California,  and 
that  the  wreck  was  a  legitimate  mode  of  stop- 
ping ;  as  one  day  she  inquired  if  that  was  the 
way  they  always  went  to  San  Francisco,  and 
said,  if  she  had  known  travelling  was  so  hard, 
she  would  not  have  started.  This  accounted 
for  her  equanimity,  which  surprised  me,  after 
the  vessel  struck  the  reef,  as  she  sat  quietly  eat- 
ing her  cakes,  while  every  thing  was  going  to 
destruction  around  us,  and  the  sea  broke  above 
our  heads» 

in  crossing  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  we  were 
delighted  with  the  neat  appearance  of  the  na- 
tives, whom  we  saw  along  the  roadside,  or  sit- 
ting in  their  little  huts  near  by,  which  were 
made  of  the  trunks  of  the  tall  palm-trees,  in 
columns,  open  at  the  side,  and  thatched  with 
leaves.  These  people  were  clad  in  clean  white 
garments,  tlie  women  with  muslins  and  laces 
drooping  from  their  bare  shoulders,  and  with 
bright  llowers  in  their  hair. 

On  reaching  Panama,  the  women  there  greeted 


VOYAGE  TO  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


15 


great  energy, 
and  repeated 
IS  born." 
11  things  were 
ight  that  the 
^s  was  a  regu- 
alifornia,  and 
node  of  stop- 
tLat  was  the 
rancisco,  and 
was  so  hard, 
lis  accounted 
sed  me,  after 
it  quietly  eat- 
was  going  to 
broke  above 

ima,  we  were 
;e  of  the  na- 
idside,  or  sit- 
which  were 
|alm -trees,  in 
latched  with 
clean  white 
s  and  laces 
^s,  and  with 

here  greeted 


us  with  groat  kindness  and  sympathy.  One  of 
them  threw  her  arms  around  one  of  the  first 
women  of  our  party  that  she  saw,  and  exclaimed, 
"  Oh,  we  have  thought  so  much  about  you !  we 
were  afraid  vou  would  die  for  want  of  water." 
It  seemed  strange  that  they  should  have  cared 
so  much,  when  a  little  whil^  before  they  never 
knew  of  our  existence.  1  felt  as  if  I  had  hardly 
had  a  chance  before  in  my  life  to  know  what 
mere  humanity  meant,  apart  from  individual 
interest,  and  how  strong  a  feeling  it  is.  We 
realized  still  more  the  kindness  of  these  "  dear, 
dark-eyed  sisters,"  when  we  opened  the  trunk 
of  clothing  which  they  sent  on  board  the 
"America,"  the  steamer  that  took  us  to  San 
Francisco. 

The  voyage  up  the  Pacific  coast  was  long  and 
wearisome.  For  some  days  we  felt  seriously  the 
ill  effects  of  the  island  life  and  the  tropic  heat, 
and  could  only  endure ;  until,  one  i^^orning,  we 
came  up  on  deck,  and  there  were  the  beautiful 
serrated  hills  of  Old  California.  We  had  rounded 
Cape  St.  Lucas,  and  had  a  strong,  exhilarating 
breeze  from  the  coast,  and  began  to  be  ourselves 


agnni. 


The  monotony  of  our  sea-life  was  broken  by 
one  event  of  special  interest,  —  the  addition  of 
another  human  being  to  our  large  number.     I 


-.M 


map 


'ft ' 


I 


16 


THE  NEW  BABY. 


must  mention  first,  —  for  it  seems  as  if  they 
brought  her,  —  that  all  one  day  we  sailed  in  a 
cloud  of  beautiful  gray-and-white  gulls,  nying 
incessantly  over  and  around  us,  with  their  pretty 
orange  bills  and  fringed  wings  and  white  fan- 
tails.  They  were  very  gentle  and  dove-like. 
They  staid  with  us  only  that  day.  The  last 
thing  that  I  saw  at  night,  far  into  the  dark,  was 
one  flying  after  us ;  and,  the  next  morning,  we 
heard  of  the  birth  of  the  baby.  She  was  chris- 
tened in  the  cabin,  the  day  after,  by  the  Micro- 
nesian  missionary,  in  the  presence  of  a  large 
company.  A  conch-shell  from  the  reef  served 
as  the  christening-basin.  The  American  flag 
was  festooned  overhead ;  and,  as  far  uj  possible, 
the  cabin  was  put  into  festive  array.  She  was 
named  "Roncadora  America,"  from  the  reef, 
and  the  vessel  on  which  she  was  born.  The 
captain  gave  her  some  little  garments  he  was 
carrying  home  to  his  own  unborn  baby,  and  the 
gold  ties  for  her  sleeves.  When  her  name  was 
pronounced,  the  ship's  gun  was  fired ;  then  the 
captain  addressed  the  father,  who  held  lici,  and 
presented  him  with  a  purse  cf  fifty  dollars  from 
the  passengers,  ending  in  triumph  with  — 

"  And  now,  my  friends,  see  Roncadora, 
With  freedom's  banner  floating  o'er  her.** 


it  III 


Ites 


THE   NEW  BABY. 


17 


if  they 
3d  in  a 
•  nying 
'  pretty 
ite  fnn- 
ve-like. 
he  last 
fk,  was 
ng,  we 
!  chris- 
Micro- 
1.  large 
served 
n  flag 
ssible, 
le  was 
reef, 
The 
e  was 
id  the 
e  was 
n  the 
,  and 
from 


The  father  then  uncovered  her;  ^he  having  made 
herself  quite  apparent  before  by  wrestling  with 
her  little  fists  under  the  counterpane,  and  utter- 
ing a  variety  of  wild  and  incomprehensible 
sounds.  She  proved  a  handsome  baby,  large 
and  red,  with  a  profusion  of  soft,  dark  hair. 


11 


II. 


Port  Angeles.  —  Indian  "  Hunter  "  and  his  "Wife.  —  Sailor's 
Funeral.  —  Incantation.  —  Indian  Graves.  —  Chief  Yeo- 
mans.  —  Mill  Settlements.  —  Port  Gamble  Trail.  —  Canoe 
Travel.  —  The  Memaloost. —  Tommy  and  his  Mother. 
Olympic  Range.  —  Ediz  Hook.  —  Mrs.  S.  and  her  Children. 
—  Grand  Indian  Wedding.  —  Crows  and  Indians. 

Port  Angeles,  "Washington  Tesbitort, 
July  20,  1865. 

"TTTE  reached  here  day  before  yesterday, 
V  ▼  very  early  in*  the  morning.  We  were 
called  to  the  forward  deck ;  and  before  us  was 
a  dark  sea-wall  of  mountains,  with  misty  ra- 
vines and  silver  peaks,  —  the  Olympic  Range, 
a  fit  home  for  the  gods. 

A  fine  blue  veil  hung  over  the  water,  be- 
tween us  and  the  shore  ;  and,  the  air  being  too 
heavy  for  the  smoke  of  the  Indian  village  to 
rise,  it  lay  in  great  curved  lines,  like  dim,  rain- 
bow-colored serpents,  over  sea  and  land. 

I  thought  it  was  the  loveliest  place  I  had 
ever  seen.  The  old  Spanish  explorers  must 
have  thought  so  too,  as  they  named  it  "Port 
of  the  Angels." 

18 


PORT  ANGELES. 


If* 


We  found  that  the  path  to  our  house  was  an 
Indian  trail,  winding  about  a  mile  up  the  bluff 
from  the  beach;  the  trees  shutting  overhead, 
and  all  about  us  a  drooping  white  spirea,  a 
most  bridal-looking  flower.  Here  and  there, 
on  some  precipitous  bank,  was  the  red  Indian- 
flame.  Every  once  in  a  while,  we  came  to  a 
little  opening  looking  down  upon  the  sea ;  and 
the  sound  of  it  was  always  in  our  ears.  At 
last  we  reached  a  partially  cleared  space,  and 
there  stood  the  house ;  behind  it  a  mountain 
range,  with  snow  filling  all  the  ravines,  and, 
below,  the  fulness  and  prime  of  summer.  We 
are  nearly  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  which  send 
us  down  their  snow-winds  night  and  morning, 
and  their  ice-cold  water.  Between  us  and  them 
are  the  fir-trees,  two  hundred  and  fifty  and 
three  hundred  feet  high  ;  and  all  around,  in  the 
burnt  land,  a  wilderness  of  bloom,  —  the  purple 
firevveed,  that  grows  taller  than  our  heads,  and 
in  the  richest  luxuriance,  of  the  same  color  as 
the  Alpine  rose. — a  beautiful  foreground  for 
snowy  hills. 

The  house  is  not  ready  for  us.  We  are 
obliged  at  present,  for  want  of  a  chimney,  to 
stop  with  our  nearest  neighbor.  But  we  pay 
it  frequent  visits.  Yesterday,  as  we  sat  there, 
we  received  a  call  from  two  Indians,  in  extreme 


Il  I 


20 


INDIAN  ''HUNTER"  AND  HIS    WIFE. 


undress.  They  walked  in  with  perfect  freedom, 
and  sat  down  on  the  floor.  We  shall  endeavor 
to  procure  from  Victoria  a  dictionary  of  the 
Haidah,  Chinook,  and  other  Indian  languages, 
by  the  aid  of  which  we  shall  be  able  to  receive 
such  visitors  in  a  more  satisfactory  manner. 
At  present,  we  can  only  smile  very  much  at 
them.  Fortunately,  on  this  occasion,  our  car- 
penter was  present,  who  told  us  that  the  man 
was  called  "  Hunter,"  which  served  as  an  intro- 
duction. Hunter  took  from  the  woman  a  white 
bag,  in  which  was  a  young  wild  bird,  and  put  it 
into  my  hands.  The  carpenter  said  that  this 
Indian  had  done  some  work  for  him,  bringing 
up  lumber  from  the  beach,  etc.,  and  had  come 
for  his  pay;  that  he  would  not  take  a  white 
man's  word  for  a  moment,  but  if,  in  making  an 
agreement  with  him,  a  white  man  gave  him  a 
little  bit  of  paper  with  ani/  thing  written  on  it, 
he  was  perfectly  satisfied,  and  said,  "  You  my 
tilikum  [relation]  —  I  wait." 

The  neighbor  with  whom  we  are  stopping 
says,  that,  the  night  before  we  came,  a  wildcat 
glared  in  at  her  as  she  sat  at  her  window. 

It  looks  very  wild  here,  the  fir-trees  are  so 
shaggy.  I  think  the  bears  yet  live  under  them. 
Many  of  the  trees  are  dead.  When  the  setting 
sun  lights  up  the   bare,  pointed   trunks,  the 


SAILOR'S  FUNERAL. 


21 


great  troops  of  firs  look  like   an  army  with 
speai's  of  gold,  climbing  the  bills. 


July  30, 18(55. 

To-day,  as  we  were  descending  by  the  trail 
from  the  bluff  to  the  beach,  we  saw  a  funeral 
procession  slowly  ascending  the  wagon-road. 
It  came  from  the  Sailors'  Hospital.  We  waited 
until  it  passed.  The  cart  containing  the  coffin 
was  drawn  by  oxen,  and  followed  by  a  little 
white  dog  and  a  few  decrepit  sailors.  There 
was  no  sign  of  mourning,  but  a  reverent  look 
in  their  faces.  The  body  had  been  wrapped  in 
a  flag  by  brotherly  hands.  The  deep  music 
of  the  surf  followed  them,  and  the  dark  fir- 
branches  met  overhead. 

In  California,  the  poorest  of  people,  by  the 
competition  of  undertakers,  are  furnished,  at  low 
rates,  with  the  use  of  silver-mounted  hearses 
and  nodding  plumes,  a  shrouding  of  crape,  and 
a  long  line  of  carriages.  Even  those  who  have 
really  loved  the  one  who  is  gone  seem,  in  some 
incomprehensible  way,  to  find  a  solace  in  these 
manifestations,  and  would  have  considered  this 
sailor's  solitary  funeral  the  extreme  of  deso- 
lation. But  Nature  took  him  gently  to  her 
bo.'om ;  the  soft  sky  and  the  fragrant  earth 
seemed  to  be  calling  him  home. 


Q 


m 


22 


INCANTATION. 


We  found  by  inquiry  that  it  Was  the  funeral 
of  an  entirely  unknown  sailor,  who  had  not  even 
any  distant  friends  to  whom  he  wished  mes- 
sages sent.  His  few  possessions  he  left  for  the 
use  of  the  children  of  the  place,  and  quietly 
closed  his  eyes  among  strangers,  returning 
peacefully  to  the  unknown  country  whence  he 
came. 

Aug.  2, 1866. 

We  went  this  morning  to  an  Indian  Tamdh- 
nou8  (incantation),  to  drive  away  the  evil  spirits 
from  a  sick  man.  He  lay  on  a  mat,  surrounded 
by  women,  who  beat  on  instruments  made  by 
stretching  deer-skin  over  a  frame,  and  accom- 
panied the  noise  thus  produced  by  a  monoto- 
nous wail.  Once  in  a  while  it  became  quite 
stirring,  and  the  sick  man  seemed  to  be  im- 
proved by  it.  Then  an  old  man  crept  in 
stealthily,  on  all-fours,  and,  stealing  up  to  him, 
put  his  mouth  to  the  flesh,  here  and  there,  ap- 
parently sucking  out  the  disease. 

Aug.  17, 1865. 
Hunter  stepped  to  rest  to-day  on  our  door- 
steps. He  had  a  haunch  of  elk-meat  on  his 
back,  one  end  resting  on  his  head,  with  a  cush- 
ion of  green  fern-leaves.  He  called  me  "  Closhe 
tum-tum "  (Good  Heart),  and  gave  me  a  great 
many  beautiful  smiles. 


INDIAN  GRAVES. 


28 


We  find  that  there  are  a  number  of  canoes 
suspended  in  the  large  fir-trees  on  some  of  our 
h\nd,  with  the  mummies  of  Indians  in  them. 
These  are  probably  the  bodies  of  chiefs,  or  per- 
sons of  high  rank.  There  is  also  a  graveyard 
on  the  beach,  which  is  gay  with  bright  blank- 
ets, raised  like  flags,  or  spread  out  and  nailed 
upon  the  roofs  over  the  graves,  and  myriads 
of  tin  pans :  we  counted  thirty  on  one  grave. 
A  looking-glass  is  one  of  the  choicest  of  the 
decorations.  On  one  we  noticed  an  old  trunk, 
and  others  were  adorned  with  rusty  guns. 

Last  night  there  came  a  prolonged,  heavy, 
booming  sound,  different  from  any  thing  we  had 
heard  before.  In  the  morning  we  saw  that 
there  had  been  a  great  landslide  on  the  moun- 
tain back  of  us,  bringing  down  rocks  and  trees. 


Aug.  30,  1865. 

Yeoman s,  an  old  Indian  chief,  the  Tyee  of 
the  Flat-heads  at  Port  Angeles,  came  to  see  us 
to-day.  He  pointed  to  himself,  and  said,  *'  Me 
all  the  same  white  man ;  "  explaining  that  he  did 
not  paint  his  face,  nor  drink  whiskey.  Mrs. 
S.,  at  the  light-house,  said  that  she  had  fre- 
quently invited  him  to  dinner,  and  that  he 
handled  his  napkin  with  perfect  propriety ;  al- 
though he  is  often  to  be  seen  sitting  cross-legged 
on  the  sand,  eating  his  meal  of  sea-urchins. 


i! 


li'l 


h  i 


84 


CniEF   YEOMANS. 


He  is  very  dramatic,  and  described  to  us  by 
sounds  only,  without  our  understanding  any  of 
the  words,  how  wild  the  water  was  at  Cape 
Flattery,  and  how  the  ships  were  rocked  about 
tliere.  It  was  thrilling  to  hear  the  sounds  of 
the  winds  as  he  represented  them :  I  felt  as  if 
I  were  in  the  midst  of  a  great  storm. 

His  little  tribe  appear  to  have  great  respect 
for  his  authority  as  a  chief,  and  show  a  proper 
deference  towards  him.  He  is  a  mild  and  gen- 
tle ruler,  and  not  overcome  by  the  pride  and 
dignity  of  his  position.  He  is  always  ready 
to  assist  in  drao'iiinff  our  boat  on  to  the  beach, 
and  does  not  disdain  the  dime  offered  him  in 
compensatioji  for  the  service. 

His  son,  a  grown  man,  no  longer  3'oung,  who 
introduced  himself  to  us  as  "Mr.  Yeomans's 
son,"  and  who  appears  to  have  no  other  desig- 
nation, is  much  more  c»f  a  wild  Indian  than  the 
old  man.  Sometimes  I  see  him  at  night,  going 
out  with  his  klootchman  in  their  little  canoe  ; 
she,  crouched  in  her  scarlet  blanket  at  one  end, 
holding  the  dark  sail,  and  the  great  yellow 
moon  shining  on  them. 

I  used  to  wonder,  when  we  first  came  here, 
what  their  interests  were,  and  what  they  were 
thinking  about  all  the  time.  Little  by  little  we 
find  out.     To-night  he  came  in  to  tell  us  that 


iii 


^Hli^ 


MILL  SETTLEMENTS. 


25 


there  was  going  to  be  a  great  potlach  at  the 
coal-mines,  wliere  a  hirge  quantity  of  iktas 
would  be  given  away,  —  tin  pans,  guns,  blan- 
kets, canoes,  and  money.  How  his  eyes  glistened 
as  he  described  it  I  It  seems  that  any  one  who 
aspires  to  be  a  chief  must  first  give  a  potlach 
to  his  tribe,  at  which  he  dispenses  among  them 
all  his  possessions. 

This  afternoon,  as  I  sat  at  my  window,  my 
attention  was  attracted  by  a  little  noise.  I 
looked  up;  and  there  was  a  beautiful  young 
Indian  girl;  holding  up  a  basket  of  fruit,  of  the 
same  color  as  her  lips  and  cheeks.  It  was  a 
delicious  wild  berry  that  grows  here,  known  as 
the  red  huckleberry.  Mrs.  S.  knew  her,  and 
told  me  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  the  old 
chief,  lately  betrothed  to  a  Cape-Flattery  In- 
dian. 

Sept.  20, 18G5. 

Everywhere  about  Puget  Sound  and  the  ad- 
joining waters  are  little  arms  of  the  sea  running 
up  into  the  land,  like  the  fiords  of  Northern 
Europe.  Many  of  them  have  large  sawmills 
at  the  head.  We  have  been  travelling  about, 
stopping  here  and  there  at  the  little  settlements 
around  the  mills.  We  were  everywhere  most 
hospitably  received.  All  strangers  are  welcomed 
as  guests.     Every  thing  seems  so  comfortable, 


1^  !*i 

1 1  i 


MM 
■>r-!|! 


m\ 


26 


MILL  SETTLEMENTS. 


and  on  such  a  liberal  scale,  that  we  never  think 
of  the  people  as  poor,  although  the  richest  here 
have  only  bare  wooden  walls,  and  a  few  articles 
of  furniture,  often  home-made.  It  seems,  rather, 
as  if  we  had  moved  two  or  three  generations 
back,  when  no  one  had  any  tiling  better ;  or,  as 
if  we  might  perhaps  be  living  in  feudal  times, 
these  great  mill-owners  have  such  authority  in 
the  settlements.  Some  of  them  possess  very 
large  tracts  of  land,  have  hundred?  of  men  in 
their  emploj^  own  steamboats  and  hotels,  and 
have  large  stores  of  general  merchandise,  in  con- 
nection with  their  mill-business.  They  some- 
times provide  amusements  for  the  men,  — little 
dramatic  entertainments,  etc.,  —  to  keep  them 
from  resorting  to  drink  ;  and  encourage  them  to 
send  for  their  families,  and  to  make  gardens 
around  their  houses. 

The  house  where  we  stopped  at  Port  Madison 
was  very  attractive.  The  maple-trees  had  been 
cut  down  to  build  it;  but  life  is  so  vigorous 
here,  that  they  grew  up  nnd  r  the  porch,  and 
^hen,  as  they  became  tall*  r  came  outside,  and 
-urved  up  around  it,  so  that  it  was  a  perfect 
nest.  The  maple  here  is  not  just  like  the  East- 
ern tree,  but  has  a  larger,  darker  leaf.  Inside, 
the  rooms  were  large  and  low,  with  great  fire- 
places filled  with  flaming  logs,  that  illuminated 
tliem  brilliantly. 


PORT  GAMBLE  TRAIL. 


27 


We  began  our  expedition  round  the  Sound 
in  a  plunger,  —  the  most  atrocious  little  craft 
ever  constructed.  Its  character  is  well  ex- 
pressed by  its  name.  These  boats  are  danger- 
ous enough  in  steady  hands ;  but,  as  they  are 
exceedingly  likely  to  be  becalmed,  the  danger 
is  very  much  increased  from  the  temptation  to 
drink  that  seems  always  to  assail  the  captain 
and  men  in  these  wearisome  delays. 

To  avoid  waiting  two  or  three  days  at  Port 
Madison  for  the  steamer,  we  determined  to 
cross  to  the  next  port  by  an  Indian  trail  through 
the  woods ;  though  we  were  told  that  it  was 
very  rough  travelling,  and  that  no  white  woman 
had  ever  crossed  there,  and,  also,  that  we  might 
have  to  take  circuitous  routes  to  avoid  fires. 
We  started  early  in  the  morning,  allowing  the 
whole  day  for  the  journey.  We  passed  through 
one  of  the  burnt  regions,  where  the  trees  were 
still  standing,  so  gray  and  spectral  that  it  was 
like  a  strange  dream.  Farther  along  we  heard 
a  prolonged,  mournful  sound,  that  we  could  not 
account  for ;  but,  in  a  little  while,  we  came  to 
where  the  bright  flames  were  darting  from  the 
trunks  and  branches,  and  curling  around  them. 
The  poor  old  trees  were  creaking  and  groaning, 
preparatory  to  falling.  We  were  obliged,  occa- 
sionally, to  abandon   the   trail;   or,  rather,  it 


28 


PORT  GAMBLE  TRAIL. 


abandoned  us,  being  burnt  through.  Off  the 
path,  the  underbrush  was  ahnost  impassable ; 
tlie  vine-maple,  with  crooked  stems  and  tangled 
branches,  with  coarse  briers  and  vines,  knit 
every  thing  together.  It  seemed  more  like  a 
tropical  than  a  northern  forest,  there  were  so 
many  glossy  evergreen  leaves.  We  recognized 
among  them  the  holly-leaf  barberry  (known 
also  as  the  Oregon  grape),  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  shrubs.  Its  pretty  clusters  of  yel- 
low flowers  were  withered,  and  its  fruit  not  yet 
ripe.  We  found  also  the  sallal,  —  the  Indian's 
berry,  —  the  salmon-colored  raspberry,  and  the 
coral-red  huckleberry.  Occasionally  we  heard 
the  scream  of  a  hawk,  o-'  the  whirring  of  great 
wings  above  our  heads ;  but,  for  the  most  part, 
we  tramped  on  in  perfect  silence.  The  woods 
were  too  dark  and  dense  for  small  birds. 

It  was  curious  tc  notice  how  much  some  of 
the  little  noises  sounded  like  whispers,  or  like 
footsteps.  There  was  hardly  a  chance  tliat 
there  could  be  any  other  human  beings  there 
besides  ourselves.  It  recalled  to  me  the  Indian's 
dread  of  skookums  (spirits)  in  the  deep  woods. 
To  him,  the  mere  flutter  of  a  leaf  had  a  mean- 
ing ;  the  sighing  of  the  wind  was  intelligible 
language.  So  many  generations  of  Indians  had 
crossed  that  trail,  and  so  few  white  people,  I 


PORT  GAMBLE  TRATL. 


29 


felt  as  if  some  subtile  aroma  of  Indian  spirit 
muse  linger  still  about  the  place,  and  steal  into 
our  thoughts.  Occasionally  an  owl  stirred  in 
the  thicket  beside  us,  or  we  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  mottled  beauty  of  a  snake  gliding  across 
our  path.  The  great  boom  and  crash  of  tlie 
falling  trees  startled  us,  until  we  were  used  to 
it,  and  understood  it. 

Whenever  we  left  the  trail,  we  felt  some 
doubt  lest  we  might  not  find  it  again,  or  might 
happen  upon  an  impassable  stream  that  would 
cut  us  off  from  farther  progress;  not  feeling 
quite  equal  to  navigating  with  a  pole  on  a  snag, 
after  the  fashion  of  the  Indians. 

Near  sunset,  when  the  woods  began  to  grow 
darker  around  us,  we  saw  a  bird,  about  as  large 
as  a  robin,  with  a  black  crescent  on  his  breast. 
His  song  was  very  different  from  that  of  the 
robin,  and  consisted  of  five  or  six  notes,  regu- 
larly descending  in  minor  key.  It  thrilled  me 
to  hear  it  in  the  solit'iry  woods:  it  was  like  the 
wail  of  an  Indian  spirit. 

It  began  to  be  quite  a  serious  question  to  us, 
wiiat  we  were  to  'io  for  the  night ;  as  how  near 
or  how  far  Port  Gamble  miglit  be,  we  could  not 
tell.  There  was  no  possibility  of  our  climbing 
the  Straight  fir-trees,  with  branches  high  over- 
head; and  to  stop  on  the  ground  was  not  to  bo 


il    ^ 

iilii 

1      ' 

i 

t 

1  ' 

!  ^ 

: 

1  ^  -f  M' 

! 

1  ^Nn 

1  '^ 

^\'  , ,, 

30 


CANOE  X RAVEL. 


thought  of,  for  fear  of  wild  beasts.  We  hastened 
on,  but  the  trail  became  almost  undistinguish- 
able  before  the  lights  of  Port  Gramble  appeared 
below  us.  As  we  descended  tc»  the  settlement, 
we  were  met  with  almost  as  nuch  excitement 
on  the  part  of  the  mill  people,  who  had  never 
crossed  the  trail,  Cis  if  we  had  risen  from  the 
water,  or  floated  down  from  the  sky,  among 
them. 

We  take  great  satisfaction  in  the  recollection 
of  this  one  day  of  pure  Indian  life. 

The  next  day  we  decided  to  try  a  canoe. 
We  should  not  have  ventured  to  go  alone  with 
the  Indians,  not  understanding  their  talk ;  but 
another  passenger  was  to  go  with  us,  who  rep- 
resented that  he  had  learned  the  only  word  it 
would  be  necessary  to  use.  He  explained  to  us, 
after  we  started,  that  the  word  was  "%ac," 
which  meant  "  hurry  up  ;  "  the  only  danger  b^.  wg 
that  we  should  not  reach  Port  Townsend  before 
dark,  as  they  were  apt  to  proceed  in  so  leisurely 
a  way  when  left  to  themselves.  After  a  while, 
the  bronze  paddlers — two  siwashes  (men)  and 
two  klootchmen  (women)  —  began  to  show  some 
abatement  of  zeal  in  their  work,  and  our  fellow- 
passenger  pronounced  the  talismanic  word,  with 
some  emphasis ;  wliereat  they  laughed  nini  to 
scorn,  and  made  some  sarcastic  remarks,  half 


CANOE  TRAVEL. 


31 


i'l^i- 


Chinook  and  half  English,  from  which  we 
gathered  that  they  advised  him,  if  he  wanted 
to  reach  Port  Townsend  before  dark,  to  tell  the 
sun  to  stop,  and  not  tell  them  to  hurry  up.  We 
could  only  look  on,  and  admire  their  magnifi- 
cent indifference.  They  stopped  whenever  they 
liked,  p.^Cl  Itiughed,  and  told  stories.  The  sky 
darkened  in  a  very  threatening  way,  and  a 
heavy  shower  came  on ;  but  it  made  not  the 
slightest  difference  to  them.  After  it  was  over, 
there  was  a  splendid  rainbow,  like  the  great 
gate  of  heaven.  This  animated  the  Indians, 
and  their  spirits  rose,  so  that  they  began  to 
sing ;  and  we  drifted  along  with  them,  catching 
enough  of  their  careless,  joyous  mood,  not  to 
worry  about  Port  Townsend,  although  we  did 
not  reach  the  wharf  till  two  or  three  hours  after 
dark. 

J^  day  or  two  after,  we  found,  rather  to  our 
rr .:  ret  that  we  should  be  obliged  to  take  a  canoe 
.  gt'i'ii  from  Port  Discovery.  The  intoxicated 
"  Oi:  '0  of  Wellington  "  —  an  Indian  with  a 
wide  gold  band  round  his  hat,  and  a  dilapidated 
naval  uniform  —  came  down,  and  invited  us  to 
go  in  his  sloop.  We  politely  declined  the  offer, 
and  selected  Tommy,  the  only  Indian,  we  v»ere 
■•old,  who  did  not  drink.  With  the  aid  of  some 
of  the  bystanders,  we  asked  his  views  of  the 


mi 

miiiii 


i 


Hi! 


32 


TnS  MEMALOOST. 


weather.  He  said  there  would  undoubtedly  be 
plenty  of  wind,  and  plenty  of  rain,  but  it 
would  not  make  any  difference :  he  had  mats 
enough,  and  we  could  stop  in  the  woods.  But, 
as  we  had  other  ideas  of  comfort,  we  waited  two 
days ;  and,  as  the  weather  was  still  unsettled, 
we  took  the  precaution,  before  starting,  to  give 
him  his  directions  for  the  trip :  "  Halo  wind, 
Port  Angeles;  .  !''■■•  "^dnd,  Dungeness,"  meaning 
that  we  were  to  Yu  the  privilege  of  stopping 
at  Dungeness  if  it  should  prove  too  stormy  to 
go  on.  So  he  and  his  little  klootchman^  about 
as  big  as  a  child  of  ten,  took  us  off.  When  we 
reached  the  portage  over  which  they  had  to 
carry  the  canoe,  he  pointed  out  the  place  of  the 
memaloost  (the  dead).  I  see  the  Indians  often 
bury  them  between  two  bodies  of  water,  and 
have  wondered  if  this  had  any  significance  to 
them.  I  have  noticed,  too,  that  their  burial- 
places  have  always  wild  and  beautiful  surround- 
ings. At  this  place,  the  blue  blankets  over  the 
graves  waved  in  the  wind,  like  the  wings  of 
some  great  bird.  A  chief  was  buried  here ;  and 
some  enormous  wooden  figures,  rudely  carved, 
stood  to  guard  him.  They  looked  old  and  worn. 
They  had  long,  narrow  eyes,  high  cheek-bones, 
and  long  u;  per  lips,  like  true  Indians,  with 
these  features  somewhat  exaggerated. 


TOMMY  AND  HIS  MOTHER. 


83 


'S 


We  tried  to  talk  with  Tomm}'  a  little  about 
the  ynemaloost.  He  said  it  was  all  the  same  with 
an  Indian,  whether  he  was  menivloost,  or  on  tlie 
illahle  (the  earth) ;  meaning  that  he  was  equally 
alive.  We  were  told  at  the  store,  that  Tommy 
still  bought  sugar  and  biscuits  for  his  child  who 
had  died. 

When  we  reached  the  other  side  of  the  por- 
tage, the  surf  roared  so  loud,  it  seemed  frightful 
to  launch  the  canoe  in  it ;  but  Tommy  praised  R. 
as  skookum  (very  strong)  in  helping  to  conduct  it 
over.  He  seemed  much  more  good-natured  than 
the  Indians  we  had  travelled  with  before.  He 
smiled  at  the  loon  floating  past  us,  and  spoke 
to  it. 

When  we  reached  Dungeness,  he  represented 
that  it  would  be  very  rough  outside,  in  the 
straits.  So  he  took  us  to  a  farmhouse.  I  began 
to  suspect  his  motive,  when  I  saw  that  there 
was  a  large  Indian  encampment  there,  and  he 
pointed  to  some  one  he  said  was  all  the  same 
as  his  mamma.  It  was  the  exact  representa- 
tion of  a  sphinx,  —  an  old  gray  creature  lying 
on  the  sand,  with  the  upper  part  of  her  body 
raised,  and  her  lower  limbs  concealed  by  lier 
l)lanket.  I  expected  to  see  Tommy  run  and 
embrace  her:  but  he  walked  coolly  by,  with- 
out  giving    her  any   greeting   whatever;   and 


i, 


34 


EDIZ  HOOK. 


I|  ! 


she  remained  perfectly  imperturbable,  never 
stirred,  and  her  expression  did  not  change  in 
the  least.  I  was  horror-stricken,  but  afterwards 
altered  my  views  of  her,  and  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  she  was  a  good,  kind  mother,  only 
that  it  was  their  way  to  refrain  from  all  appear- 
ance of  emotion.  When  we  started  the  next 
morning,  she  came  down  to  the  canoe  with  the 
little  klootchman,  loaded  with  presents,  which  she 
carried  in  a  basket  on  her  back,  supported  by  a 
broad  band  round  her  head,  —  smoking-hot  veni- 
son, and  a  looking-glass  for  the  child's  grave, 
among  them.  The  old  lady  waded  into  the 
water,  and  pushed  us  off  with  great  energy  and 
strong  ejaculations. 

As  we  approached  Port  Angeles,  we  had  a 
fine  view  of  the  Olympic  Range  of  mountains, 
— shining  peaks  of  oilver  in  clear  outline  ;  later, 
only  dark  points  emerging  from  seas  of  yellow 
light.  Little  clouds  were  drawn  towards  them, 
and  seemed  like  birds  hovering  over  them,  some- 
times lightiiig,  or  sailing  slowly  off. 


ni!!i! 


Ediz  Hook  Light,  Sept.  23, 1865. 
This  light-house  is  at  the  end  of  a  long,  nar- 
row sand-spit,  known   by  the  unpoetical  name 
of  Ediz  Hook,  which  runs  out  for  three  miles 
into  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  in   a  graceful  curve, 


MRS.  S.  AND  HER  CHILDREN. 


35 


forming  the  bay  of  Port  Angeles.  Outside  are 
the  roaring  surf  and  heavy  swell  of  the  sea ; 
inside  that  slender  arm,  a  safe  shelter. 

In  a  desolate  little  house  near  by,  lives  Mrs. 
S.,  whose  husband  was  recently  lost  at  sea. 
She  is  a  woman  who  awakens  my  deepest  won- 
der, from  her  being  so  able  to  dispense  with  all 
that  most  women  depend  on.  She  prefers  still 
to  live  here  (her  husband's  father  keeps  the 
light),  and  finds  her  company  in  her  great  or- 
gan. One  of  the  last  things  her  husband  did 
was  to  order  it  for  her,  and  it  arrived  after  his 
death.  I  think  the  sailors  must  hear  it  as  they 
pass  the  light,  and  wonder  where  the  beautiful 
music  comes  from.  There  is  something  very 
soft  and  sweet  in  her  voice  and  touch. 

Sometimes  I  see  the  four  children  out  in  the 
boat.  The  little  girls  are  only  four  and  six 
years  old,  yet  they  handle  the  oars  with  ease. 
As  I  look  at  their  bare  bright  heads  in  the  sun- 
shine, they  seem  as  pretty  as  pond-lilies.  I 
feel  as  if  they  were  as  safe,  they  are  so  used  to 
the  water. 

Port  Angeles,  Oct.  1, 18G5. 

Port  Angeles  has  been  the  scene  of  a  grand 
ceremony,  —  the  marriage  of  Yeoman s's  daugh- 
ter to  the  son  of  a  Makah  chief.  Many  of  the 
Makah  tribe  attended  it.     They  came  in  a  fleet 


36 


GRAND  INDIAN    WEDDING. 


Hi 


I    '' 


of  fifty  canoes, — large,  handsome  boats,  their 
high  pointed  beaks  painted  and  carved,  and 
decorated  with  gay  colors.  The  chiefs  had 
eagle-feathers  on  their  heads,  great  feather-fans 
in  tlieir  hands,  and  were  dressed  in  black  bear- 
skins. Our  Flat-heads  in  their  blankets  looked 
quite  tame  in  contrast  with  them.  They  ap- 
proached the  shore  slowly,  standing  in  the 
canoes.  When  they  reached  the  landing  in 
front  of  Yeomans's  ranch,  the  congratulations 
began,  with  wild  gesticulations,  leapiiigs,  and 
contortions.  They  were  tall,  savage-looking 
men.  Some  of  them  had  rings  in  their  noses ; 
and  all  had  a  much  more  primitive,  uncivilized 
look,  than  our  Indians  on  the  Sound.  I  could 
hardly  believe  that  the  gentlemanly  old  Yeo- 
mans  would  deliver  up  his  pretty  daughter  to 
the  barbarians  tha'»>  came  to  claim  her,  and 
looked  to  see  some  one  step  forward  and  forbid 
the  banns;  but  the  ceremony  proceeded  as  if 
every  thing  were  satisfactory.  There  may  be 
more  of  the  true  old  Indian  in  him  than  I 
imagined;  or  perhaps  this  is  a  political  move- 
ment to  consolidate  the  friendship  of  the  tribes. 
When  they  landed,  they  formed  a  procession, 
bearing  a  hundred  new  blankets,  red  and  white, 
as  a  potlach  to  the  tribe.  They  brought  also 
some  of  tlie  much-prized  blue  blankets,  reserved 
for  special  ceremonies  and  the  use  of  chiefs. 


CHOWS  AND   INDIANS. 


87 


What  occurred  inside  the  lodge,  we  could  not 
tell;  but  were  quite  touched  at  seeing  Yeomans's 
son  take  the  flag  from  his  dead  sister's  grave, 
and  plant  it  on  the  beach  at  high-water  mark, 
as  if  it  were  a  kind  of  participation,  on  the  part 
of  the  dead  girl,  in  the  joy  of  the  occasion. 


Oct.  6,  ISGS. 
Flocks  of  crows  hover  continually  about  the 
Indian  villages.  The  most  proverbially  suspi- 
cious of  all  birds  is  here  familiar  and  confiding. 
The  Indian  exercises  superstitious  care  over 
them,  but  whether  from  love  or  fear  we  could 
never  discover.  It  is  very  difficult  to  find  out 
what  an  Indian  believes.  We  have  sometimes 
heard  that  they  consider  the  crows  their  ances 
tors.  It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  the  Indians,  in 
talking,  make  so  much  use  of  the  palate, — kl 
and  other  guttural  sounds  occurring  so  often, 
—  and  that  the  crow,  in  his  deep  "caw,  caw," 
uses  the  same  organ.  It  may  be  significant  of 
some  psychological  relationship  between  them. 


III. 

Indian  Chief  Seattle.  — Frogs  and  Indians.  —  Spring  Flow- 
ers and  Birds. —  The  Red  Tamdhnovs.  —  The  little  I'eud 
d'Oreille. — Indian  Legend.  —  From  Seattle  to  Fort  Col- 
villo.  —  Crossing  the  Columbia  River  Bar.  —  The  River  and 
its  Surroundings.  —  Its  Former  Magnitude.  —  The  Graudo 
Coulee.  —  Early  Explorers,  Heceta,  Meares,  Vancouver, 
Grey.  —  Curious  Burial-place.  —  Chinese  Miners.  —  Uma- 
tilla. —  Walla  Walla.  —  Sage-brush  and  Bunch-grass.  — 
Flowers  in  the  Desert. —  "  Stick  "  Indiana. —  Klickatats. 
—  Spokane  Indian.  —  Snakes.  —  Dead  Chiefs.  —  A  Kamas 
Field.  —  Basaltic  Rocks. 


Seattle,  Washington  TEimiTORr, 
Nov.  5, 18G5. 

'TTT'E  saw  here  a  very  dignified  Indian,  old 
▼  ▼  and  poor,  but  with  something  about  him 
that  led  us  to  suspect  that  he  was  a  chief.  We 
found,  upon  inquiry,  that  it  was  Seattle,  the  old 
chief  for  whom  the  town  was  named,  and  the 
head  of  all  the  tribes  on  the  Sound.  He  had 
with  him  a  little  brown  sprite,  that  seemed  an 
embodiment  of  the  wind,  —  such  a  swift,  elastic 
little  creature,  —  his  great-grandson,  with  no 
clothes  about  him,  though  it  was  a  cold  Novem- 
ber day.  To  him,  motion  seemed  as  natural  as 
rest. 

38 


FROGS  AND   INDIANS. 


39 


Here  we  first  saw  Mount  Rainier.  It  was 
called  by  the  Indians  Tacoma  (The  nourishing 
breast).  It  is  also  claimed  that  the  true  In- 
dian name  is  Talioma  (Almost  to  heaven).  It 
stands  alone,  nearly  as  high  as  Mont  Blanc, 
triple-pointed,  and  covered  with  snow,  most 
grand  and  inaccessible-looking. 

We  have  a  great  laurel-tree  beside  our  house. 
It  looks  so  Southern,  it  is  strange  to  see  it 
among  the  firs.  It  has  a  dark  outer  bark,  and 
a  soft  inner  skin ;  both  of  which  are  stripped 
away  by  the  tree  in  growing,  and  the  trunk  and 
branches  are  left  bare  and  flesh-colored.  It  has 
glossy  evergreen  leaves,  and  bright  red  berries, 
that  look  very  cheerful  in  contrast  with  the 
snow. 

April  6.,  1866. 

The  frogs  have  begun  to  sing  in  the  marsh, 
and  the  Indians  in  their  camps.  How  well 
their  voices  chime  together!  All  the  bright 
autumn  days,  we  used  to  listen  to  the  Indians 
at  sunset ;  but  after  that,  we  heard  no  sound  of 
them  for  several  months.  They  sympathize  too 
much  with  Nature  to  sing  in  the  winter.  Now 
the  warm,  soft  air  inspires  them  anew.  All 
through  the  cold  and  rainy  months,  as  I  looked 
out  from  my  window,  there  was  always  the 
little  black  figure  in  the  canoe,  as  free  and  as 


40 


SPItlNG  FLOWERS  AND  BIRDS. 


(tlljiljlit 


i 


!li 


unembarrassed  by  any  superfluities  as  the  birds 
that  circled  around  it.  It  seemed  a  mistake, 
wlien  tlie  most  severe  weather  came,  for  them 
to  have  made  no  preparation  whatever  to  meet 
it.  It  drove  the  women  into  our  houses,  with 
their  little  bundles  of  "  fire-sticks  "(pitch-wood) 
to  sell.  I  offered  one  of  them  a  pair  of  shoes  ; 
but  she  poi'ited  to  the  snow,  and  said  it  was 
"  hot,"  and  tiiat  it  would  make  her  feet  too  cold 
to  wear  shoes. 

We  were  told,  before  we  came  here,  that  this 
climate  was  like  that  of  Asia;  and  now  an  Asian 
flower  has  come  to  confirm  it.  The  marshes  are 
all  gay  with  it :  it  is  the  golden  club.  The  bot- 
any calls  it  the  Orontium,  because  it  grows  on 
the  banks  of  the  Orontes ;  and  it  is  very  Asian- 
looking.  It  has  a  great  wrapper,  like  the  rich 
yellow  silk  in  which  the  Japanese  brought  their 
presents  to  President  Lincoln.  It  is  a  relation 
to  the  calla-lily,  but  is  larger. 

The  very  last  day  of  winter,  as  if  they  could 
not  possibly  wait  a  day  longer,  great  flocks  of 
meadow-larks  came,  and  settled  down  on  the 
field  next  to  us.  They  are  about  as  large  as 
robins,  and  have  a  braided  work  of  black-and- 
gold  to  trim  off  their  wings,  and  a  broad  black 
collar  on  their  orange  breasts.  They  appear  to 
have  a  very  agreeable  consciousness  of  being  in 


THE  RED   TAMA II NOV 8. 


41 


the  finest  possible  condition.  The  dear  old  rob- 
ins look  rather  faded  beside  them.  With  them 
came  the  crimson-headed  linnets.  In  trying  to 
identify  these  little  birds  from  our  books,  I  found 
that  great  confusion  had  prevailed  in  regard  to 
them,  because  their  nuptial  plumage  differs  so 
much  from  their  ordinary  dress.  These  darlings 
blushed  all  over  with  life  and  joy,  which  told 
me  their  secret. 

April  30,  186G. 

In  the  winter  we  were  told,  that,  when  the 
spring  came  fully  on,  the  Indians  v  )uld  have 
the  '"Red  Tamdhnous^''  which  means  ''love."  A 
little,  gray  old  woman  appeared  yesterday  morn- 
ing at  our  door,  with  her  cheeks  all  aglow,  as  if 
her  young  blood  had  returned.  Besides  the 
vermilion  lavishly  displayed  on  her  face,  the 
crease  at  the  parting  of  her  hair  was  painted 
the  same  color.  Every  article  of  clothing  she 
had  on  was  bright  and  new.  I  looked  out,  and 
saw  that  no  Indian  had  on  any  thing  but  red. 
Even  old  blind  Charley,  whom  we  had  never 
seen  in  any  thing  but  a  black  blanket,  appeared 
in  a  new  one  of  scarlet.  But  I  was  most 
touched  by  the  change  in  this  woman,  because 
she  is,  I  suppose,  the  oldest  creature  that  I  ever 
looked  at.  Nothing  but  a  primeval  rock  ever 
seemed  to  me  so  old;  and  when  we  had  seen 


m 


42 


THE  LITTLE  PEND  D' OREILLE, 


i 


:il!i 


1 

1 
1  '■ 

1 

■ 

1 

i 

1 

\'' 

1    ! 

i  :'  i'' 

11 

I 

l{ 


her  before,  she  was  like  a  mummy  generally 
in  her  clothing.  These  most  ancient  creatures 
have  their  little  stiff  legs  covered  with  a  kind 
of  blue  cloth,  sewed  close  round  them,  just  like 
the  mummy-wrappings  T  have  seen  at  Barnum's 
Museum.  She  has  more  vivacity  and  animation 
than  any  one  else  I  ever  sav\'.  If  anybody  has 
a  right  to  bright  cheeks,  she  has.  I  like  the 
Indians'  painting  themi>elves,  for  in  them  it  is 
quite  a  different  thing  from  what  it  is  in  fashion- 
able ladies.  They  do  it  to  show  how  they  feel, 
not  commonly  expressing  their  emotions  in 
words. 

This  woman,  who  is  a  Pend  d'Oreille,  has  the 
most  extraordinary  power  of  modulation  in  her 
voice.  The  Indians,  by  prolonging  the  sound 
of  words,  add  to  their  force,  and  vary  their 
meaning;  so  that  the  same  word  signifies  more 
or  less,  according  as  it  is  spoken  quickly  or 
slowlv.  She  has  such  a  searching  voice,  espe- 
cially when  she  is  attempting  to  convict  me  of 
any  subterfuge  or  evasion,  that  I  liave  to  yield 
to  her  at  once.  The  Indians  have  no  word,  as 
far  as  I  can  learn,  f (  r  "busy."  So,  when  I  can- 
not entertaiii  her,  I  have  to  make  the  nearest 
approach  I  can  to  the  truth,  and  tell  her  I  am 
sick,  or  something  of  that  kind ;  but  nothing 
av^ails,  witli  her,  short  of  the  absolute  truth. 


MM 


AN  INDIAN  LEGEND. 


43 


She  is  so  very  fantastic  and  entertaining,  that 
I  should  cultivate  her  acquaintance  more,  if  it 
wertj  not  for  this  deficiency  in  the  language, 
which  makes  it  impossible  to  convey  the  idea 
to  her  when  I  want  to  get  rid  of  her.  As  old 
as  she  is,  she  still  carries  home  the  great  sacks 
of  flour  —  a  hundred  pounds  —  on  her  back, 
superintends  the  salmon-fishery  for  the  family, 
takes  care  of  the  tenas  men  (children),  and 
looks  after  affairs  in  general. 

May  10,  1866. 

We  walked  out  to  Lake  Union,  and  found  an 
Indian  and  his  wife  living  in  a  tree.  The  most 
primitive  of  the  Indians,  the  old  gray  ones,  who 
look  the  most  interesting,  do  not  commonly 
sj^eak  the  Chinook  at  all,  or  have  any  inter- 
course with  the  whites.  On  the  way  there,  we 
found  the  peculiar  rose  that  grows  only  on  the 
borders  of  the  fir-forest,  the  wild  white  honey- 
suckle, and  the  glossy  kinni-kinnick — the  Indian 
tobacco. 

We  saw  a  nest  built  on  tbe  edge  of  the  lake, 
rising  and  falling  with  the  water,  but  kept  in 
place  by  the  stalks  of  shrubs  about  it.  \  great 
brown  bird,  with  spotted  breast,  rose  from  it, 
I  recognized  it  as  the  dabchick.  The  Indians 
say  that  this  bird  was  once  a  human  being,  wife 
to  an   Indian  with  whom  she  quarrelled.     He 


'I'illl,  ll 


mm' 
- 1'  ■  I'l 


I'lilF^^ 


ii 


:::l!!ii!lll 


44 


FROM  SEATTLE  TO  FORT  COLVILLE. 


was  transformed  to  the  great  bine  heron,  and 
stalks  about  the  marshes.  With  tlie  remnant 
of  her  woman's  skill,  she  makes  these  curious 
nests,  in  sheltered  nooks,  on  the  edges  of  lakes. 
She  dived  below  the  water,  and  we  i^eeped  in 
at  her  babies.  Their  floating  nest  was  over- 
hung by  wliite  spirea.  The}^  had  silver  breasts, 
and  pale  blue  bills.  I  wondered  that  their  little 
bleating  cry  did  not  call  her  back ;  but,  though 
below  the  water,  she  seemed  to  know  that  we 
were  near,  and  as  long  as  we  lingered  about  she 
would  not  return. 

We  are  going  on  a  long  journey  to  the  north, 
part  of  it  over  a  desert  table-land,  where  for 
four  days  there  will  be  no  house,  —  a  part  of  the 
country  frequented  by  the  Snake  River  Indians 
and  the  Nez  Perces,  who  are  inclined  to  be 
hostile.  It  is  near  the  territory  of  the  Pend 
d'Oreilles.  I  have  seen  one  of  them,  with  a 
pretty,  graceful  ornament  in  her  ear. 

Fort  Colville,  Washington  Territory, 
June  8,  1806. 

We  travelled  by  stf^«i:r.er  from  Seattle  to  Port- 
land, tlience  by  a  succession  of  steamers  as  far 
as  Wallulla.  We  then  took  the  stage  for  Walla 
Walla,  at  which  point  public  accommodation 
for  travel  ceases.     We  stopped   there  two  or 


CROSSING   THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER  BAR.      45 


three  clays,  seeking  a  conveyance  across  the 
country  to  this  point ;  and  finally  secured  a 
wagoner,  who  agreed  to  transport  us  and  our 
luggage  for  a  hundred  dollars,  the  distance 
being  two  hundred  miles. 

The  most  interesting  part  of  the  journey  was 
the  passage  of  the  Columbia.  The  bar  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river  is  a  great  hinderance  to  its 
free  navigation ;  and  vessels  are  often  detained 
for  days,  and  even  weeks,  waiting  for  a  favorable 
opportunity  to  cross.  We  waited  five  days  out- 
side in  the  fog,  hearing  all  the  time  the  deep, 
solemn  warning  of  the  breakers,  to  keep  off. 
Our  steadfast  captain,  as  long  as  he  could  see 
nothing,  refused  to  go  on,  knowing  well  the  risk, 
though  he  sent  the  ship's  boats  out  at  times  to 
try  to  get  his  bearings.  In  all  that  tin  ■  the  fog 
never  once  ?^.fted  so  that  he  could  get  liori- 

zon-line.  At  the  end  of  the  fifth  day,  he  ot- 
tered in  triumjjh,  with  a  clear  view  of  the  river, 
the  grandest  sight  I  have  ever  seen.  The  pas- 
sengers seemed  hardly  to  dare  to  breathe  till  we 
were  over  the  bar.  Some  of  them  had  witnessed 
a  frightful  wreck  there  a  few  years  before,  when, 
after  a  similar  waiting  in  the  fog  for  nearly  a 
week,  a  vessel  attempted  to  enter  the  river,  and 
struck  on  the  bar.  She  was  seen  for  two  days 
from  Astoria,  but  the  water  was  so  rough  that 


46 


THE  RIVER  AND  ITS  SURROUNDINGS. 


\ 


no  life-boat  could  reach  lier.  The  passengers 
embarked  on  rafts,  but  were  swept  off  by  the 
sea. 

As  we  passed  into  the  river,  I  sat  on  deck, 
looking  about.  All  at  once  I  felt  a  heavy 
thump  on  my  back,  and  a  wave  broke  over  my 
head,  —  a  pretty  rough  greeting  from  the  sea. 
It  seems  that  we  slightly  grounded,  but  were 
off  in  an  instant. 

I  had  long  looked  forward  to  the  wonderful 
experience  of  seeing  this  immense  river,  seven 
miles  broad,  rolling  seaward,  and  the  great  line 
of  breakers  at  the  bar ;  but  no  one  can  realize, 
without  actually  seeing  it,  how  much  its  gran- 
deur is  enhanced  by  the  surroundings  of  inter- 
minable forest,  and  the  magnificence  of  its 
snow-mountains.  The  character  of  the  river 
itself  is  in  accordance  with  every  thing  about 
it,  especially  where  it  breaks  through  the  Cas- 
cade Mountains  in  four  miles  of  rapids ;  and 
still  higher  up,  shut  between  basaltic  walls, 
rushes  with  deafening  roar  through  the  narrow 
passage  of  the  Dalles,  where  it  is  >  nmpressed 
into  one-eighth  of  its  width.  For  a  long  time 
I  could  not  receive  any  other  sensation,  nor 
admit  any  other  thought,  but  of  its  terrific 
strength.  The  Indians  say  that  in  former  times 
the  river  flowed  smoothly  where  are  now  the 


ITS  FORMER  MAGNITUDE. 


47 


whirling  rapids  of  the  Cascades,  but  that  a 
land-slide  from  the  banks  dammed  up  the 
stream,  and  produced  this  great  change.  How 
many  generations  have  repeated  the  account  of 
this  wonderful  occurrence,  from  one  to  another, 
to  bring  it  down  to  our  times!  This  is  now 
accepted  by  scientific  men  as  undoubtedly  the 
fact. 

It  is  hard  to  conceive  the  idea  of  the  geolo- 
gists, that  this  is  only  the  remnant  of  a  vastly 
greater  Columbia,  that  formerly  occupied  not 
only  its  present  bed,  but  other  channels,  now 
abandoned,  including  the  Grande  Coulee,  be- 
tween whose  immense  walls  it  poured  a  current 
ten  miles  broad  at  the  mouth;  and  that  the 
water  was  at  some  time  one  or  two  thousand 
feet  above  the  present  level  of  the  river,  as 
shown  by  the  terraces  along  its  banks,  and  frag- 
ments of  drift  caught  in  fissures  of  the  rock. 
The  Grande  Coulde  is  like  an  immense  roofless 
ruin,  extending  north  and  south  for  fifty  miles. 
Strange  forms  of  rock  are  scattered  over  the 
great  bare  plain.  To  the  Indiar.  it  is  the 
home  of  evil  spirits.  They  say  there  are  rum- 
blings in  the  earth,  and  that  the  rocks  are  hot, 
and  smoke.  Thunder  and  lightning,  so  rare 
elsewhere  on  the  western  coast,  are  here  more 
common.     The  evidences  of  volcanic  action  are 


\i  m 


48 


EARLY  EXPLORERS. 


everywhere  apparent,  —  in  the  hnge  masses  and 
curious  columns  of  basaltic  and  trap-rock,  the 
lava-beds  through  which  the  rivers  have  found 
their  way,  and  the  powdery  alkaline  soil.  The 
marks  of  glaciers  are  also  as  distinct  hi  the 
bowlders,  and  the  scooping-out  of  the  beds  of 
lakes.  The  gravelly  prairies  between  the  Co- 
lumbia and  Puget  Sound,  and  the  Snoqualmie, 
Steilaguamish,  and  other  flats,  show  that  the 
Sound  was  formerly  of  much  more  extensive 
proportions  than  at  present. 

The  Columbia  was  :^rst  discovered  on  the 
15th  of  August,  1775,  by  Bruno  Heceta,  a 
Spanish  explorer,  who  found  an  opening  in  the 
coast,  from  which  rushed  so  strong  a  current  as 
to  prevent  his  entering.  He  concluded  that 
it  was  the  mouth  of  some  great  river,  or  possi- 
bly the  Straits  of  Fuca,  which  might  have  been 
erroneously  marked  on  his  chart.  As  this  was 
the  anniversary  of  the  Assumption  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  he  named  the  opening  Unsenada  de  Asi(?i- 
cuni  (Assumption  Inlet)  ;  and  it  was  afterwards 
called,  in  the  charts  published  in  Mexico,  Ense- 
fiada  de  Heceta.,  and  liio  de  S(ui  Roque.  He 
gave  to  the  poiut  on  the  north  side  the  name  of 
Cape  San  Roque ;  and,  to  that  on  the  south, 
Cape  Frondoso  (Leafy  Cape). 

Meares,  in  1788,  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Dis- 


■|' 


vlilwVW* 


EARLY  EXPLORERS. 


49 


appointment  to  the  northern  point,  owing  to 
his  not  being  able  to  make  the  entrance  of  the 
river,  and  the  mouth  he  called  Deception  Bay, 
and  asserted  that  there  was  no  such  river  as  the 
St.  Roc,  as  laid  down  in  the  Spanish  charts. 

Vancouver  also,  when  exploring  the  Pacific 
coast  in  1792,  passed  by  this  great  stream, 
without  suspecting  that  there  was  a  river  of 
any  importance  there.  He  noticed  the  line  of 
breakers,  and  concluded,  tliat,  if  there  was  any 
river,  it  must  be  unnavigable,  from  shoals  and 
reef'^.  He  had  made  up  his  mind,  that  all 
the  streams  llownig  into  the  Pacific  between  the 
fortieth  and  forty-eiglith  parallels  of  latitude 
were  mere  brooks,  insufficient  for  vessels  to 
navigate,  and  not  worthy  his  attention. 

Capt.  Grey,  who  reached  the  place  shortly 
after,  with  keener  observation  and  deeper  in- 
sight, saw  the  indications  of  a  great  river  there, 
and  after  lying  outside  for  nine  days,  waiting  a 
favorable  opportunity  to  enter,  succeeded  in 
doing  so  on  the  11th  of  May,  1792,  being  the 
first  to  accomplish  that  feat,  and  explored  the 
lower  portion  of  it.  He  gave  to  the  river  and 
to  the  southern  point  the  names  tliey  now  bear. 

Vancouver  failed  in  the  same  way  to  discover 
the  Fraser,  the  great  river  of  British  Columbia, 
although  he  actually  entered  the  delta  of  the 


"1 


I 


50 


EARLY  EXPLORERS. 


f 


river,  and  sailed  about  among  the  sand-banks, 
naming  one  of  them  Sturgeon  Bank;  while 
the  Spanish  explorers,  who  were  there  about  the 
same  time,  recognized  the  fact  of  its  existence 
far  out  at  sea,  in  the  irregular  currents,  the 
sand-banks,  the  drift  of  trees  and  logs,  and  also 
in  the  depression  in  the  Cascade  Mountains, 
which  marks  its  channel. 

In  1805  Lewis  and  Clarke,  who  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  that  year,  found  that 
the  Indians  called  the  river  "  Shocatileum  " 
(friendly  water). 

Tourists  have  not  yet  discovered  what  a 
wonderful  country  this  is  for  sight-seeing,  for- 
tunately for  us.  On  our  passage  up  the  Colum- 
bia, after  leaving  Portland,  we  sat  for  two  or 
three  days,  almost  alone,  on  the  deck  of  the 
steamer,  with  nothing  to  break  the  silence  but 
the  deep  breathing  of  the  boat,  which  seemed 
like  its  own  appreciation  of  it ;  and  sailed  past 
the  great  promontories,  some  of  them  a  thou- 
sand feet  high,  and  watched  the  slender  silver 
streams  that  fall  from  the  rocks,  and  felt  that 
we  were  in  a  new  world,  —  new  to  us,  but  older 
and  grander  than  any  thing  we  had  ever  seen. 

We  were  shown  a  high,  isolated  rock,  rising 
far  above  the  water,  on  which  was  a  scaffolding, 
where,  for  many  generations,  the  Indians  had 


CURIOUS  BURIAL-PLACE. 


61 


deposited  their  dead.  They  were  wrapped  in 
skins,  tied  with  cords  of  grass  and  bark,  and 
laid  on  mats.  Their  most  precious  possessions 
were  placed  beside  them,  first  made  unservice- 
able for  the  living,  to  secure  their  remaining 
undisturbed.  The  bodies  were  always  J^id  with 
the  head  toward  the  west,  because  the  memalooso 
illahie  (land  of  the  dead)  lay  that  way. 

In  the  instincts  of  children  and  of  uncivilized 
people,  there  seems  something  to  trust.  This 
idea  of  Heaven's  lying  toward  the  \^est  appears 
to  have  been  held  by  the  New-England  Indians 
also,  and  is  expressed  in  Whittier's  lines,  — 

"  O  mighty  Sowannal 
Thy  gateways  unfold, 
From  thy  wigwam  of  sunset 
Lift  curtains  of  gold  I 
Take  home  the  poor  spirit  whose  journey  is  o*er  — 
Mat  wonck  kunna-monee  !    We  see  thee  no  more ! " 


The  Chinese  have  also  the  "  peaceful  land  in 
the  west,"  lying  far  beyond  the  visible  universe. 

Farther  up  the  river,  we  passed  some  aban- 
doned diggings,  where  little  colonies  of  patient, 
toilsome  Chinamen  had  established  themselves, 
and  were  washing  and  sifting  the  earth  discarded 
by  previous  miners ;  making,  we  were  told,  on 
the  average,  two  or  three  cents  to  the  pan.    The 


1 


mm 


58 


UMATILLA.  —  WALLA    WALLA. 


'■'I 


11       : 


ill! 

ill!  If'ilill 


Chinaman  regularly  pays,  as  a  foreigner  (and  is 
almost  the  only  foreigner  who  does  so),  his  min- 
ing-license tax  to  the  State.  He  never  seeks  to 
interfere  with  rich  claims,  and  patiently  sub- 
mits to  being  driven  away  from  any  neglected 
spot  he  Qiay  have  chosen  if  a  white  man  takes 
a  fancy  to  it. 

We  stopped  one  night  at  Umatilla  City,  a 
cheerless  little  settlement  at  the  junction  of  the 
Umatilla  River  with  the  Columbia,  in  the  midst 
of  a  bleak,  dreary  waste  of  sand  and  sage-brush, 
without  a  sign  of  a  tree  in  any  direction,  a 
perfect  whirlwind  blowing  all  the  time.  What 
could  induce  people  to  live  there,  I  could  not 
imagine. 

We  stopped  a  day  or  two  at  Walla  Walla, 
where  one  of  the  early  forts  was  established ; 
the  post  having  been  transferred  from  Wallula, 
where  it  was  called  Fort  "Nez  Perces,"  from 
the  Indians  in  that  vicinity,  who  wore  in  their 
noses  a  small  white  shell,  like  the  fluke  of  an 
anchor. 

The  journey  from  Walla  Walla  to  Fort  Col- 
ville  occupied  eleven  days  and  nights,  during 
which  time  we  did  not  take  a  meal  in  a  house, 
nor  sleep  in  a  bed.  It  was  cold,  rainy,  and 
windy,  a  good  deal  of  the  time,  but  we  enjoyed 
it  notwithstanding.     To  wake  up  in  the  clear 


SAGE-BRUSU  AND  BUNCH-GRASS. 


53 


air,  with  the  bright  sky  above  us,  when  it  was 
pleasant ;  and  to  reach  at  night  the  little  oases 
of  willows  and  birches  and  running  streams 
where  we  camped,  —  was  enough  to  repay  us 
for  a  good  deal  of  discomfort.  At  one  of  the 
camping-grounds,  —  Cow  Creek,  —  a  beautiful 
bird  sang  all  night ;  it  sounded  like  bubbling 
water. 

For  several  days  we  saw  only  great  sleepy- 
looking  hills,  stretching  in  endless  succession, 
as  far  as  the  horizon  extended,  from  morning 
till  night,  as  if  a  billowy  ocean  had  been  sud- 
denly transfixed  in  the  midst  of  its  motion. 
They  have  only  thin  vegetation  on  them,  —  not 
enough  to  disturb  or  conceal  the  beautiful  forms, 
the  curves  which  the  waves  leave  on  the  hills 
they  deposit.  Their  colors  are  very  subdued,  — 
pale  salmon  from  the  dead  grass,  or  light  green 
like  a  thin  veil,  with  the  red  earth  showing 
dimly  through.  There  is  no  change  in  looking 
at  them,  but  from  light  to  shadow,  as  the  clouds 
move  over  them. 

We  travelled,  for  a  long  distance,  over  sage- 
brush and  alkali  plains.  In  this  part  of  the 
country,  sage-brush  is  a  synonym  for  any  thing 
that  is  worthless.  Wc;  found  the  little  woody 
twigs  of  it  available  for  our  camping-fires ;  but 
its  amazing  toughness  reminded  me  of  a  story 


54 


BAGE-BRUSn  AND  BUNCn-GRASS. 


told  by  Mr.  Boiler,  in  his  book  "Among  the 
Indians."  He  was  taking  a  band  of  mnstang 
half-breeds  from  California  to  Montana,  when, 
to  his  surprise,  one  of  the  mares  presented  him 
witli  a  foal.  Supposing  it  would  be  impossi])le 
for  it  to  keep  up  with  the  party,  he  took  out  his 
revolver  to  shoot  it.  Twice  he  raised  it,  but  the 
little  fellow  trotted  along  so  cheerily  that  his 
heart  failed  him,  and  he  returned  it  to  the  hol- 
ster. The  colt  swam  creeks  breast-high  for  the 
horses,  and  travelled  on  with  sublime  indiffer- 
ence to  every  thing  but  the  gratification  of  its 
keen  little  appetite.  He  resolved  to  take  it 
through,  thinking  it  would  never  do  to  destroy 
an  animal  of  so  much  pluck,  and  named  it 
"  Sage-brush."  It  swam  every  stream,  flinched 
from  nothing,  and  arrived  in  good  order  in 
Montana,  a  distance  of  three  hundred  niles, 
having  travelled  every  day  from  the  time  it  was 
half  an  hour  old.  Its  name  was  most  appropri- 
ate, as  an  illustration  of  the  character  of  thje 
plant. 

Intermixed  with  the  wastes  of  sage-brush 
were  patches  of  bunch-grass.  The  horses 
sniffed  it  with  delight  as  luxuriant  pasturage. 
It  is  curious  to  see  how  nature  here  acts  in  the 
interest  of  civilization.  The  old  settlers  told 
us  that  many  acres  formerly  covered  with  sage- 


4- 


FLOWERS  IN   THE   DESERT. 


55 


brush  were  now  all  bunch-gi  xss.  It  is  a  pecul- 
iarity of  the  sage-brush,  that  fire  will  not 
spread  in  it.  The  bush  which  is  fired  will 
burn  to  the  ground,  but  the  next  will  not  catch 
from  it.  The  grass  steals  in  among  the  sage- 
brush ;  and,  when  that  is  burned,  it  carries  the 
fire  from  one  bush  to  another.  Although  the 
jjrass  itself  is  consumed,  the  roots  strike  deep ; 
and  it  springs  up  anew,  overrunning  the  dead 
sage-brush. 

Then  we  came  to  the  most  barren  country  I 
ever  saw,  —  nothing  but  broken,  rusty,  worm- 
eaten  looking  rocks,  where  the  rattlesnakes 
Jive.  But  here  grew  the  most  beautiful  flower, 
i-edch-blossom  color.  It  just  thrust  its  head 
out  of  the  earth,  and  the  long  pink  buds 
stretched  themselves  out  over  the  dingy  bits 
of  rock ;  and  that  was  all  there  was  of  it.  We 
took  some  of  the  roots,  which  are  bulbous,  and 
shall  try  to  furnish  them  with  sufficient  hard- 
ships to  make  them  grow. 

One  night,  while  in  this  region,  we  camped 
on  a  hill  where  the  cayotes  came  up  and  cried 
round  us,  which  made  it  seem  quite  wild. 

Wherever  there  was  any  soil,  there  was 
another  little  plant  that  was  very  prettj^  to 
notice,  both  for  itself,  and  because  of  its  adap- 
tation to  the  climate  in  the  dry  season.    It  was 


T 


56 


''  STICK  "   INDIANS. 


■■'     '; 


coated  with  a  delicate  fur ;  and  long  after  tlie 
hot  sun  was  up,  and  ',\hen  ever}^  thing  else  was 
dry,  great  diamonds  of  dew  glistened  in  its 
soft  hair.  We  saw  a  grc  «,t;  many  plants  of  the 
lupine  family,  in  every  variety  of  shade,  from 
crimson,  blue,  and  purple,  to  white. 

On  the  last  days  we  had  all  the  time  before 
us  dark  mountains,  with  snow  on  their  summits, 
and  troops  of  trees  on  their  sides,  and  ravines 
with  sun-lighted  mists  travelling  through  tliem. 
It  was  like  getting  into  an  inhabited  country, 
to  reach  the  trees  again :  they  were  almost 
like  human  beings,  after  what  we  had  seen. 
The  Spokane  River  divides  the  great  treeless 
plain  on  the  south  from  the  timbered  mouu- 
tainous  country  to  the  north. 

During  this  journey,  we  came  upon  varlou? 
little  bands  of  Indians,  of  different  tribes.  We 
noticed  the  superiority  of  the  "  stick "  Indians 
(those  who  live  in  the  woods)  over  those  who 
live  by  the  sea.  The  former  have  heeds  of 
horses,  and  hunt  for  their  living.  The  Indians 
who  live  by  fishing  are  of  tamer  natures,  poor 
and  degraded,  compared  to  those  of  the  interior. 

We  saw  at  Walla  Walla  some  of  the  Klick- 
atats,  from  the  mountains.  They  were  very 
bright  and  animated  in  their  appearance,  and 
■A'ore  fringed  dresses  and  ornamented  leggings. 


!;:l:ii:i 


I 

f 


SPOKANE  INDIAN. 


57 


and  moccasins  of  buffalo-skin.  They  were 
mounted  upon  fancy-colored  and  spotted  horses, 
which  they  prize  above  all  others.  They  pre- 
sented such  a  striking  contrast  to  the  lazy 
Clalams  on  the  Sound,  —  who  used  to  say  to 
us  in  reply  to  our  inquiries  as  to  their  occupa- 
tions and  designs,  *'  Oultus  nannitsh^  cultus  mit- 
Ught "  (look  about  and  do  nothing),  as  if  that 
were  their  whole  business  all  day  long,  —  that  I 
was  reminded  of  what  some  of  the  early  explor- 
ers said,  that  no  two  nations  of  Europe  differed 
more  widely  from  each  other  than  the  different 
tribes  of  Indians. 

One  day  we  met  an  Spokane  Indian,  of  very 
striking  appearance,  with  a  face  like  Dante's,  but 
with  a  happier  expression.  He  was  most  becom- 
ingly clothed  in  white  blankets,  compactly  folded 
about  hmi,  with  two  or  three  narrow  red  stripes 
across  his  bonnet  of  the  same  material,  which  had 
a  red  peaked  border,  completely  encircling  the 
face,  like  an  Irishwoman's  night-cap,  or  rather 
day-cap,  but  much  more  picturesque.  He  was 
cjouring  the  hills  and  plains  between  the  Snake 
and  Spokane  Rivers,  mounted  on  a  gay  little 
pony,  in  search  of  stolen  hovses.  Upon  being 
questioned  as  to  his  abiding-place,  he  informed 
us  that  he  did  not  live  anywhere. 

We  saw  some  representatives  of  another  tribe 


m 


i 


'il  mi 


■H 


ii"" 


111  ill 


ill 


inlill!"  ■;'.!!ll 


58 


SNAKE  INDIANS. 


of  Indians,  the  Snakes.  They  call  themselves 
Shoshones,  which  means  only  "  inland  Indians." 
The  white  people  called  them  Snakes,  probably 
because  of  their  marvellous  power  of  eluding 
pursuit,  by  crawling  off  in  the  long  grass,  or 
diving  in  the  water.  They  seemed  more  wild 
and  agile  than  any  we  had  seen.  The  Snakes 
were  a  very  numerous  tribe  when  the  traders 
first  came  amrng  them.  When  questioned  as 
to  their  number,  by  the  ageii+s  of  "  The  Great 
White  Cliief,"  they  said,  "  It  is  the  same  as  the 
stars  in  the  sky."  They  were  a  proud,  inde- 
pendent people,  living  mostly  on  the  plains, 
hunting  the  buffalo.  They  kept  do  canoes; 
depending  o  ily  on  temporary  rafts  of  bulrushes 
or  willows,  if  not  convenient  to  ford  or  swim 
across  the  streams.  They  were  the  only  Indians 
of  this  part  of  the  country  who  had  any  knowl- 
edge of  working  in  clay,  —  their  necessities 
obliging  them  to  make  rude  jugs  in  which  to 
carry  water  across  the  bare  pluins.  The  moun- 
tain Snakes  were  outlaws,  enemies  to  all  other 
tribes.  Tt  ^y  lived  in  bands,  in  rocky  caverns; 
and  were  said  to  have  a  wonderful  power  of 
imitating  all  sounds  of  nature,  from  the  singirg 
of  birds  to  the  howling  of  wolves,  —  by  this 
means  diverting  attention  from  themselves,  and 
escaping  detection  in  their  roving,  predatory 
expeditions. 


DEAD   CHIEFS. 


59 


When  we  reached  the  ferry  on  the  Snake 
River-,  we  saw  some  Indians  swimming  tlieir 
horses  across.  They  were  a  hunting-party  of 
Spokanes  and  Nez  Perces.  Strapped  on  to  one 
of  the  horses,  with  a  roll  of  blankets,  was  a  Nez 
Ferces  baby.  This  infant,  though  apparently 
not  over  a  year  and  a  half  old,  sat  erect,  grasp- 
ing the  reins,  with  as  spirited  and  fearless  a 
look  as  an  old  warrior's. 

At  one  of  the  portages,  we  saw  some  graves 
of  chiefs ;  the  bodies  carefully  laid  in  east-and- 
west  lines,  and  the  opening  of  the  lodge  built' 
over  them  was  toward  the  sunrise.  On  a  frame 
near  the  lodge  were  stretched  the  hides  of  their 
horses,  sacrificed  to  accompany  them  to  another 
woiid.  The  missionaries  congratulate  them- 
selves that  these  barbarous  ceremonies  are  no 
longer  observed,  that  the  Indian  is  weaned  from 
his  idea  of  the  happy  hunting-ground,  and  the 
sacrilegious  thought  of  ever  meeting  his  horse 
again  is  eradicated  from  his  mind.  I  thought 
with  satisfaction  that  the  missionary  really 
knows  no  more  about  the  future  than  the  In- 
dian, who  seems  ill  adapted  to  the  conventional 
idea  of  heaven.  For  my  part,  I  prefer  to  think 
of  him,  in  the  unknown  future,  as  retaining 
something  of  his  earthly  wildness  and  freedom, 
rutlier  than  as  a  wliite-robed  saint,  singing 
psalms,  and  playing  on  a  harp. 


'4 


GO 


A   KAMAS   FIELD. 


Between  the  Snake  and  the  Spokane  are 
several  beautiful  lakes.  We  met  a  hunter  com- 
ing from  one  of  them,  who  had  shot  a  white 
swan.  He  said  he  found  it  circling  round  and 
round  its  dead  mate,  in  so  much  distress  that 
he  thought  it  was  a  kindness  to  kill  it. 

We  passed  two  great  smoking  mounds,  and, 
on  alighting  to  investigate,  found  that  we  were 
in  the  midst  of  a  kamas-field,  where  a  great 
many  Indian  women  and  children  were  busy 
digging  the  root,  and  roasting  it  in  the  eartli. 

Some  of  tlie  old  women  wore  the  fringed 
skirt,  made  of  cloth  spun  and  woven  from  the 
soft  inner  bark  of  the  young  cedar,  which  they 
used  to  wear  before  blankets  were  introduced. 

The  Indians  eat  other  roots  beside  the  kamas, 
but  that  is  the  one  on  which  they  chiefly  de- 
pend. As  soon  as  the  snow  is  off  the  ground, 
they  begin  to  search  for  a  little  bulbous  root 
they  call  the  pohpoh.  It  looks  like  a  small 
onion,  and  has  a  dry,  spicy  taste.  In  May  they 
get  the  spatlam,  or  bitter-root.  This  is  a  deli- 
cate white  root,  that  dissolves  in  boiling,  and 
forms  a  bitter  jelly.  The  Bitter  Root  River  and 
IMountains  get  their  name  from  this  plant,  hi 
June  comes  the  kamas.  It  looks  like  a  little 
hyacinth-bulb,  and  wlion  roasted  is  as  nice  as  a 
chestnut.     We  have  seen  it  in  blossom,  wlien 


INDIAN  FOOD. 


61 


its  pale-blue  flowers  co^  creel  the  fields  so  closely 
that,  at  a  little  distance,  we  took  it  for  a  lake. 
One  of  the  women,  seeing  our  curiosity  as  we 
watched  them,  drew  some  of  the  bulbs  out  of 
the  earth  ovens,  and  handed  them  to  us.  As 
we  tasted  them,  they  exi^lained  tliat  they  were 
not  ready  to  eat;  that  it  would  take  two  or 
three  days  to  roast  them  sufficiently.  This  they 
live  upon  for  two  or  three  months;  with  the 
salmon,  it  is  their  chief  article  of  food.  The 
women  stop  at  the  kamas-grounds,  while  the 
men  go  to  the  fishing-stations. 

In  August  they  gather  the  choke-berry  and 
service-berry,  to  dry  for  the  winter.  When 
they  are  reduced  to  great  extremity  for  food, 
they  sometimes  boil  and  eat  the  moss  and 
lichens  on  the  trees,  which  the  deer  eats.  Most 
of  the  work  of  digghig  the  roots,  and  picking 
the  berries,  falls  upon  the  women.  On  this 
account,  a  Spokane  man  in  marrying  joins  the 
tniilxey  ofjiihis/' ^fjife,^  j.nstejid  of  her  joining  his 
t^yibd;  jtliiafliiji^l  ife'h^;ttillvcfe)her  away  from  the 
pkoeM  wMmijfebid  hsk  beenoaodustombdttofind 
litiln-'tot^tanii  beinries^'JBdQjeifiiijfty  n^t  sH.i(iQ6mlv'itt''aJ 
i4ew;plata«),[int«b^caiWQiiing>(il«}m(JoH'ioq  lo  'rodmnn 

o'lWe  .sajftTi  i-ri'tlife'  \m\\Mf  ofitjaio  iPelohsiB.iEitet^l 
sf m^e^,;uepiaiikable')Ibasaltic ^ffoicfcs,'  r  thdt  '  lbdl<:^d^ 
like   buildingbnwdthijooluawMii  2Widilt«iti€»t^  Micl-i 


if,' 


62 


BASALTIC  ROCKS. 


bastions.  Some  of  them  were  like  my  idea  of 
the  great  kings'  tombs  of  the  Egyptians.  The 
colors  on  them  were  often  very  Egyptian-like, 
—  bright  sulphur-yellow,  and  brown,  and  some- 
times orange  and  dark  red,  —  incrustations  of 
lichen  and  weather-staining.  We  saw,  also, 
walls  of  pentagonal  columns  of  rock,  packed 
closely  together.  Whei  the  Pelouse  enters  the 
Snake  River,  are  immense  ledges  of  square 
blocks.  When  we  camped  there,  and  I  lay 
down  beneath  them  at  night,  "  Swedish  trappa, 
a  stair,"  from  the  geological  text-book,  was 
always  running  in  my  mind,  —  this  black  trap- 
rock  made  such  great  steps  that  led  up  towards 
the  sky. 

We  have  seen  here  a  splendid  specimen  of 
gold,  which  is  to  be  sent  to  the  Exposition  at 
Paris.  It  is  granulated,  and  sparkles  as  I  never 
saw  gold  before.  Some  one  suggests  that  a  thin 
film  of  quartz  may  be  crystallized  over  it. 

Next  week  we  hope  to  go  up  within  sight 
of  the  whirlpools  of  Death's  Rapids,  a  long 
distance  above  here,  on  the  Columbia  River. 
These  rapids  are  so  named  on  account  of  the 
number  of  persons  who  have  been  lost  in  at- 
tempting to  navigate  them.  Their  names  are 
cut  into  the  rocks  at  the  side  of  the  passage; 
their  bodies  have  never  been  found. 


IV. 


Two  Hundred  Miles  on  the  Upper  Columbia.  —  Steamer 
"  Forty-nine."  — Navigation  in  a  Canon.  —  Pend  d'Oreille 
Kiver  and  Lake.  —  Rock  Paintings.  —  Tributaries  of  the 
Upper  Columbia.  —  Arrow  Lakes.  —  Kettle  Falls.  —  Sal- 
mon-catching. —  Salmon-dance.  —  Goose-dance. 

Fort  Colville,  July  20, 1866. 

"TTT^E  have  just  returned  from  a  trip  on  the 
'  »  Columbia  River,  extending  two  hundred 
miles  north  into  British  Columbia,  on  the  little 
steamer  built  in  this  vicinity  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  passengers  and  supplies  to  the  Big 
Bend  and  other  mines  in  the  upper  country. 
We  did  not  get  to  the  "  Rapids  of  the  Dead." 
The  boat,  this  time,  did  not  complete  her  ordi- 
nary trip.  Some  of  the  passengers  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  river  was  never  intended  to 
be  navigated  in  places  she  attempted  to  run 
through.  It  is  a  very  adventurous  boat,  called 
the  "Forty-nine,"  being  the  first  to  cross  that 
parallel,  —  the  line  separating  Washington  Ter- 
ritory from  British  Columbia.  The  more  oppo- 
sition she  meets  with,  and  the  more  predictions 

63 


p 


64 


STEAMER  ''forty-nine:' 


■m 


'f        i 


there  are  against  her  success,  the  more  resolute 
she  is  to  go  through ;  on  which  account,  we 
were  kept  three  weeks  on  the  way,  the  ordinary 
length  of  the  passage  being  four  days.  I  was 
surprised,  when  we  came  to  the  first  of  what 
was  called  the  "  bad  water,"  to  see  the  boat  aim 
directly  for  it.  It  was  much  better,  the  captain 
said,  to  go  "  head  on,"  than  to  run  the  risk  of 
being  carried  in  by  an  eddy.  I  never  saw  any 
river  with  such  a  tendency  to  whirl  and  fling 
itself  about  as  the  Upper  Columbia  has.  It 
is  all  eddies,  in  places  where  there  is  the  least 
shadow  of  a  reason  for  it,  and  even  where  there 
is  not ;  influenced,  I  suppose,  by  the  adjoining 
waters.  Some  of  these  whirl-pits  are  ten  or  fif- 
teen feet  deep,  measured  by  the  trees  that  are 
sucked  down  into  them. 

The  most  remarkable  part  of  the  river  is 
where  it  is  compressed  to  one-sixth  of  its  width, 
in  passing  through  a  mountain  gorge  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  long.  The  current  is  so 
strong  there,  that  it  takes  from  four  to  six 
hours  for  the  steamer  to  struggle  up  against  it, 
and  only  one  minute  to  come  down.  The  men 
who  have  passed  down  through  it,  in  small 
boats,  say  that  it  is  as  if  they  were  shot  from 
the  moutli  of  a  cannon. 

When  we  reached  this  canon,  our  real  diffi- 


NAVIGATION  IN  A   CANON. 


65 


culties  began.  We  attempted  to  enter  it  in 
the  afternoon,  but  met  with  an  accident  which 
delayed  us  until  the  next  morning.  Meanwhile 
the  river  began  to  rise.  It  goes  up  very  rap- 
idly, fifty,  sixty,  I  believe  even  seventy,  feet, 
sometimes.  We  waited  twelve  days  in  the 
woods  for  it  to  subside.  The  captain  cut  us  a 
trail  with  his  axe ;  and  we  sat  and  looked  at  the 
great  snow-fields  up  on  the  mountains,  so  bril- 
liant that  the  whitest  clouds  looked  dark  beside 
them.  The  magnificence  of  the  scenery  made 
every  one  an  artist,  from  the  captain  to  the 
cook,  who  produced  a  very  beautiful  drawing 
of  three  snow-covered  peaks,  which  he  called 
"The  Three  Sisters." 

Everybody  grew  very  impatient ;  and  at 
length,  one  night,  the  captain  said  he  would 
try  it  the  next  morning,  although  he  had  never 
before  been  up  when  the  water  was  so  high.  A 
heavy  rain  came  on,  lasting  all  night,  so  that 
it  seemed  rather  desperate  to  attempt  going 
through,  if  the  river  was  too  high  the  night 
before ;  and  I  could  hardly  believe  it,  when  I 
heard  the  engineer  getting  up  the  steam  to 
start.  The  wildest  weather  prevailed  at  this 
time,  and  on  all  important  occasions.  As  soon 
as  we  went  on  board  the  boat,  in  first  start- 
ing, a  violent  thunder-storm  came  on,  lightning. 


66 


NAVIGATION  IN  A  CANON. 


m 


iiiiiiii, 


'iili: 


hail,  and  rain ;  and  a  great  pine-tree  came 
crashing  down,  and  fell  across  the  bow  of  the 
boat.  A  similar  storm  came  again  the  first 
time  we  tried  to  enter  the  canon ;  and  the  drift 
it  brought  down  so  interfered  with  the  steer- 
ing, that  it  led  to  the  accident  before  men- 
tioned. On  this  last  morning,  there  were  most 
evident  signs  of  disapproval  all  about  us, — 
the  sky  perfect  gloom,  and  the  river  contin- 
ually replenishing  its  resources  from  the  pour- 
ing rain,  and  strengthening  itself  against  us. 
But  we  steamed  up  to  the  entrance  of  the 
cafion.  Then  the  boat  was  fastened  by  three 
lines  to  the  shore,  and  the  men  took  out  a 
cable  six  hundred  feet  in  length,  which  they 
carried  along  the  steep,  slippery  rocks,  and 
fastened  to  a  great  tree.  One  of  them  rolled 
down  fifty  feet  into  the  water,  but  was  caught 
by  his  companions  before  he  was  whirled  away. 
They  then  returned  to  the  boat,  let  on  all  the 
steam,  and  began  to  wind  up  the  cable  on 
the  capstan.  With  the  utmost  power  of  the 
men  and  steam,  it  was  sometimes  impossible  to 
see  any  progress.  Finally,  however,  that  line 
was  wound  up  ;  and  the  boat  was  again  secured 
to  the  bank,  and  the  cable  put  out  the  second 
time.  This  part  of  the  passage  was  still  more 
difficult ;  and,  after  the  line  was  arranged,  two 


NAVIGATION  IN  A   CAHON. 


67 


men  were  left  on  shore  with  grappling-irons 
to  keep  it  off  the  r  )cks,  —  a  great,  fine-looking 
one,  who  aj  >eared  equal  to  any  emergency,  and 
a  little,  common  one,  with  sandy  hair  and  a 
lobster-colored  face  and  neck.  We  watched 
them  intently ;  and,  as  we  drew  near,  wi  saw 
that  the  line  had  caught  on  something  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  water,  so  that  they  could 
not  extricate  it.  The  little  man  toiled  vigor- 
ously at  it,  standing  in  the  water  nearly  up  to 
his  head;  but  appeared  to  be  feebly  seconded 
by  the  big  one,  whc  remained  on  the  rocks.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  line  would  part  from  the 
strain,  or  the  boat  strike  the  next  moment. 
The  mate  shouted  and  gesticulated  to  them; 
but  no  voice  could  be  heard  above  the  raging 
water,  and  they  either  could  not  understand 
his  motions,  or  could  not  do  as  they  were  di- 
rected. The  boat  bore  directly  down  upon 
them.  Presently  it  seemed  evident  to  us  that 
the  little  man  must  sacrifice  himself  for  the 
steamer ;  but  I  did  not  know  how  it  looked  to 
him,  —  people  are  all  so  precious  to  themselves. 
He  stopped  a  second,  then  flung  back  his  cap 
and  pole,  and  threw  himself  under  the  boiling 
water.  Up  came  the  rope  to  the  surface,  but 
the  man  was  gone.  Instantly  after,  he  scram- 
bled  up  the  bank;  and  the  great  magnificent 


!      , 


68 


NAVIGATION  IN  A   CANON. 


I 


dJiliiii 


%. 


fsiil'ir' 

f  liiihiti.ii'i 


man  tlid  notliiiig  but  clutch  liim  on  tho  back 
wlien  lie  was  safely  out. 

We  liad  then  wound  up  about  two-thirds  of 
the  cable.  Immediately  after,  this  remarkable 
occurrence  took  place:  The  great  heavy  line 
came  wliolly  up  out  of  the  .water.  A  bolt  ilew 
out  of  the  capstan,  which  was  a  signal  for  the 
men  who  were  at  work  on  it  to  spring  out 
of  the  way.  The  captain  shouted,  "Cut  the 
rope ! "  but  that  instant  the  iron  capstan  was 
torn  out  of  the  deck,  and  jumped  overboard, 
with  the  cable  attached  to  it.  I  felt  tliankful 
for  it,  for  I  knew  it  was  the  only  thing  that 
could  put  an  end  to  our  presumptuous  attempt. 
I  had  felt  that  this  rope  would  be  a  great  snare 
to  us  in  case  of  accident.  Three  of  our  four 
rudders  were  broken ;  but  the  remaining  one 
enabled  us  to  get  into  an  eddy  that  carried  us 
to  a  little  cove,  where  we  stopped  to  repair 
damages  sufficiently  to  come  down  the  river. 

All  day,  the  rain  had  never  ceased ;  and  the 
river  had  seemed  to  me  like  some  of  those 
Greek  streams  that  Homer  tells  of,  which  had 
so  much  personal  feeling  against  individuals. 
I  felt  as  if  we  were  going  to  be  punished  for 
an  audacious  attempt,  instead  of  rewarded  for 
what  might  otherwise  have  been  considered  a 
brave  one.     When  the  capstan  disappeared,  it 


ROCK  PAINTINGS. 


69 


WuS  just  as  if  some  great  river-god,  with  a  whiff 
of  his  breath,  or  a  snap  of  his  fingers,  had  tossed 
it  contemptuously  aside.  So  we  turned  back 
defeated.  But  there  was  a  great  deal  to  enjoy, 
Avhon  we  came  to  think  of  it  afterwards,  and 
were  safely  out  of  it.  We  had  seen  nothing  so 
bold  and  rugged  before.  An  old  Scotchman, 
who  knows  more  about  it  than  any  one  else 
here,  had  said  to  us  before  we  started,  "  That 
British  Columbia  is  such  a  terrible  country, 
very  little  can  ever  be  known  of  it."  But  there 
was  a  great  deal  that  was  beautiful  too.  I  was 
particularly  struck  with  the  manner  in  which 
the  Tend  d'Oreille  springs  into  the  Columbia. 
Glen  Ellis  Fall,  gliding  down  in  its  swiftness, 
always  seemed  to  me  more  beautiful  than  almost 
any  thing  else  I  ever  saw.  But  this  river  is 
more  demonstrative.  It  springs  up,  and  falls 
again  in  showers  of  spray,  and  comes  with  great 
leaps  out  of  the  canon,  in  a  way  that  I  cannot 
describe.  There  is  in  it  more  freedom  and 
strength  and  delight  than  in  any  thing  else  I 
ever  saw.  Far  to  the  south-east,  this  stream 
widens  into  Lake  Tend  d'Oreille.  On  this  lake 
are  the  wonderful  painted  rocks,  rising  far  above 
the  water,  upon  which,  at  the  height  of  several 
hundred  feet,  are  the  figures  of  men  and  ani- 
mals, which  the  Indians  say  are  the  work  of  a 


70     TRIBUTARIES  OF  THE    UPPER  COLUMBIA. 


m\ 


fi  W 


race  that  preceded  them.  They  are  pfraid  to 
aj^proach  the  rocks,  lest  the  waters  should  rise 
in  anger,  and  ingulf  them.  There  are  also 
hieroglyphic  figures  far  up  on  the  rocks  of 
Lake  Chelan,  which  is  supposed  to  have  once 
been  an  arm  of  the  Columbia.  These  paintings 
or  picture-writings  must  have  been  made  when 
the  water  was  so  high  in  the  lakes  that  they 
could  be  J  one  by  men  in  boats. 

Most  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Upper  Colum- 
bia are  similar  in  character  to  the  main  stream, 
— wild,  unnavigable  rivers,  flowing  through  deep 
caiions,  and  full  of  torrents  and  rapids.  With 
Nature  so  vigorous  and  unsubdued  about  us, 
all  conventionalities  seemed  swept  away;  and 
something  fresh  and  strong  awoke  in  us,  as  if 
it  had  long  slumbered  until  the  presence  of 
its  kindred  in  these  mountain  streams  called 
it  to  consciousness,  —  something  of  the  force 
and  freedom  of  these  wild,  tireless  Titans,  that 
poured  down  their  white  floods  to  the  sea. 

Most  of  these  streams  rise  in  lakes,  and  in 
some  part  of  thtir  course  spread  again  into  one 
or  more  lakes;  as,  the  Arrow  Lakes  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, the  Flathead,  Kootenay,  Pend  d'Oreille, 
and  Cceur  d'Alene^  and  f\\Q  beautiful  string  of 
lakcii  of  the  Okiuakine,  and  many  otherc^. 

As   we   passed    through  the    Upper  Arrow 


KETTLE  FALLS. 


71 


Lake  and  Lower  Arrow  Lake,  which  lie  in 
British  Columbia,  we  had  some  splendid  views 
of  mountain  scenery.  The  Upper  Lake  is  thir- 
ty-three miles  long,  and  three  in  width,  crystal- 
line water,  surrounded  by  snow-covered  peaks 
and  precipices,  and  forests  of  pine  and  cedtir. 
The  second  is  sixteen  miles  bojow  the  first, 
forty-two  miles  in  length,  and  i  >yo  and  a  half 
wide.  Innumerable  arrows  were  sticking  in. 
the  crevices  of  the  rocks.  Formerly  every  In- 
dian who  passed  deposited  an  arrow,  —  intend- 
ed probably  as  an  offering  to  the  spirit  that 
rules  over  the  chase,  just  as  the  Indian  medi- 
cine-man, when  he  gathers  his  roots,  makes  an 
offering  to  the  earth. 

The  Catholic  missionaries  were  much  sur- 
prised to  find  crosses  erected  sometimes  in 
lonely  places,  and  at  first  supposed  some  other 
priests  must  have  preceded  them ;  but  learned 
that  they  were  set  up  by  the  Indians,  in  honor 
of  the  moon,  to  induce  her  to  favor  their 
nightly  expeditions  for  robbery  or  the  chase. 

July  22, 18G6. 

We  have  been  on  an  excursion  to  Kettle 
Falls  on  the  Columbia,  where  the  river  dashes 
over  the  h.^oje  rocks  in  a  most  picturesque  way. 
These  falls  were  called  La  Cha:  diere  by  the 


V 


72 


SALMON-CA  TCIIING. 


Canadian  voyageurs^  because  the  pool  below 
looks  like  a  great  boiling  caldron.  We  no- 
ticed that  limestone  tliere  rej)laced  the  black 
basalt,  of  which  we  had  seen  so  much,  the  wa- 
ter falling  over  a  tabular  bed  of  white  marble. 

There  we  saw  some  Indians  encci^ijed  in 
spearirjg  salmon,  as  the  fish  were  attempting 
to  leap  the  falls,  in  their  passage  up  the  stream 
to  their  breeding-places.  They  do  not  alv/a}s 
succeed  in  passing  the  falls  at  their  first  leap, 
sometimes  falling  back  two  or  three  times. 
Many  of  them  are  dashed  on  the  rocks  at  the 
Cascades,  and  at  other  points  where  the  river 
presents  obstacles  to  their  progress.  An  im- 
mense niunber  become  victims  to  the  nets  of 
the  fishermen,  and  the  traps  and  spears  of  the 
Indians  ;  and  those  that  escape  these  dangers, 
and  reach  tlie  upper  waters,  are  very  much 
bruised  and  battered,  —  "spent  salmon"  they 
are  called.  After  their  long  journey  of  six  or 
seven  hundred  miles  from  the  sea,  it  seems  as 
if  they  would  be  filled  with  despair  at  the  sight 
of  these  boiling  cataracts.  They  refuse  bait  on 
the  way,  apparently  never  stopping  for  food, 
froin  the  time  thev  leave  the  salt  water.  Often 
with  fms  and  tails  so  worn  down  as  to  be 
almost  useless,  their  noses  worn  to  the  l)one, 
their    eyes    sunken,    sometimes    wholly   extin- 


SALMON-DANCE. 


73 


guislied,  they  struggle  on  to  the  last  gasp,  to 
ascend  the  streams  to  their  sources.  In  calm 
weather  the}^  swim  near  the  surface,  and  close 
to  the  shore,  to  avoid  the  strong  current ;  and 
they  are  so  possessed  witli  this  one  purpose,  and 
so  regardless  of  every  thing  about  them,  that 
the  Indians  catch  liundreds  of  them  by  merely 
slipping  the  gaff-hook  under  their  bodies,  and 
lifting  them  out  of  the  water,  —  selecthig  the 
best  to  preserve  for  food,  and  throwing  aside 
those  that  they  consider  as  wortliless.  These 
pale,  emaciated  creatures,  I  looked  at  with  the 
groptest  hiterest.  How  strong  is  the  impulse 
thtii  jarries  them  tlirough,  in  spite  of  these 
ahnost  insurmountable  obstacles  !  It  is  bej'ond 
our  knowledge,  wh}^  in  coming  in  from  the 
sea,  they  pass  certain  streams  to  enter  others  ; 
but  this  they  are  known  to  do,  so  perfectly 
do  they  understand  the  mysterious  direction 
given  them. 

The  early  explorers  witnessed  many  ceremo- 
nies among  the  Indians  not  now  observed  by 
them ;  as,  the  salmon-dance,  to  celebrate  the 
taking  of  the  first  salmon  in  the  river.  When 
the  earliest  spring  salmon  was  caught  in  tlie 
Columbia,  the  Indians  were  extremely  particu- 
lar in  thuir  dealings  with  it.  No  wliite  man 
could  obtain  it  at  any  price,  lest,  by  opening  it 


"'        ■  ,-'  ■•11 

•1    -i 

Ilii 

74 


GOOSE-DANCE. 


with  a  knife  instead  of  a  stone,  he  should  drive 
all  following  salmon  from  the  river.  Certain 
parts  must  be  eaten  with  the  rising,  and  others 
with  the  falling,  tide ;  and  many  other  minute 
regulations  careiully  observed.  After  the  sal- 
mon-berry ripened,  they  relaxed  their  vigilance, 
feeling  that  by  that  time  the  influx  was  secure. 
The  Gros  Ventres  celebrated  the  goose-dance, 
to  remind  tl:e  wild  geese,  as  they  left  in  the 
autumn,  that  they  had  had  good  food  all  sum- 
mer, and  must  come  back  in  the  spring.  This 
dance  was  performed  by  women,  each  one  carry- 
ing a  bunch  of  long  seed-grass,  the  favorite  food 
of  the  wild  goose.  They  danced  to  the  sound 
of  the  drum,  circling  about  with  shuffling  steps. 


V. 


Old  Fort  Colville.  —  Angiis  McDonaM  and  his  Indian  Family. 

—  Canadian  Voyayeurs.  —  Father  Joseph.  —  Hardships  of 
the  Early  Missionaries.  —  The  Coeurs  d'Alene  and  their 
Superstitions.  —  The  Catholic  Ladder.  —  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame.  —  Skill  of  the  Missionaries  in  instructing  the  In- 
dians. —  Father  de  Smet  and  the  Blackfeet.  —  A  Native 
Dance.  —  Spokanes.  —  Exclusiveness  of  the  Coeurs  d'Alene. 

—  Battle  of  Four  Lakes.  —  The  Yakima  Chief  and  the 
Road-makers. 

Fort  Colville,  July  25,  1866. 

"YTT'E   have  been   making   a   little   visit  to 

VV   Old   Fort   Colville,  one   of  the  Hudson 

Bay  stations,  kept  by  Angus  McDonald,  an  old 

Scotchman,  who    has  been   there   for  a  great 

many  years.     He  is  an  educated  gentleman,  of 

a  great  deal  of  character  and  intelligence ;  and 

his  wife  is  an  Indian  woman,  who  cannot  live 

more  than  half  the  year  in  the  house,  and  has 

to  wander  about,  the  rest  of  it,  with  her  tillcuma 

(relations  and  friends). 

It  was  interesting  to  see  how  this  cultivated 

man,  accustomed  to  the  world  as  he  had  been, 

had  adapted  himself  to  life  in  this  solitary  spot 

on  the  frontier,  with  his  Indian  children  for  his 

75 


n^m 


76 


ANGUS  MCDONALD. 


only  companions.  He  has  about  ten.  In  some 
of  them  the  Scotcli  blood  predominated,  but 
in  most  the  Indian  blood  was  more  a})parent. 
The  oldest  son,  a  grown  man,  was  a  very  dark 
Indian,  decorated  with  wampum.  Christine, 
the  oldest  daughter,  resembled  her  father  most. 
She  kept  house  for  him,  because,  as  she  ex- 
plained to  us,  her  mother  could  not  be  much 
in-doors.  She  spoke,  too,  of  disliking  to  be 
confined.  I  asked  her  where  she  liked  best  to 
be ;  and  she  said,  with  the  Blackfeet  Indians, 
because  they  had  the  prettiest  dances,  and  could 
do  such  beautiful  bead-work;  and  described 
their  working  on  the  softened  skins  of  elk, 
deer,  and  antelope,  making  dresses  for  chiefs 
and  warriors.  We  had  a  sumptuous  meal  of 
Rocky-Mountain  trout,  buffalo-tongues,  and 
pemmican.  Although  Christine  was,  in  some 
respects,  quite  a  civilized  young  lady,  she  occa- 
sionally betrayed  her  innocence  of  convention- 
alities, as  when  she  came  and  whispered  to  me, 
before  the  meal  was  announced,  what  the  chief 
dishes  were  to  be.  She  mentioned,  as  one  of 
the  dolicacicH  of  the  Blackfeet,  berries  boiled  in 
buffalo-blood. 

Mr.  McDonald  told  us  many  stories  about 
the  Canadian  voymjeurs  employed  by  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company,  illustrating  their  power  of 


CANADIAN    VOYAGEURS. 


77 


endurance  and  their  elastic  temperament.  One 
of  their  men,  he  said,  was  lost  for  thirty-five 
days  in  tlie  woods,  and  finally  discovered  by 
the  Indians,  crawling  on  his  hands  and  feet 
towards  a  brook,  nearly  exliausted,  but  still 
keeping  up  liis  courage.  He  asked  us  if  we 
could  conjecture  how  he  had  kept  alive  all  that 
time,  with  no  means  whatever,  outside  of  him- 
self, to  procure  food.  He  had  actually  suc- 
ceeded in  making  a  fine  net  from  his  own  hair, 
witli  wliich  he  caught  small  fishes,  devouring 
them  raw,  accompanied  by  a  little  grass  or  moss ; 
not  daring  to  eat  any  roots  or  berries,  lest  thev 
might  be  poisonous,  as  the  country  was  new  to 
him.  These  Canadians  are  as  brown  as  Indians, 
from  their  constant  exposure  to  the  sun  and 
wind,  and  have  adapted  themselves  completely 
to  Indian  ways,  wearing  a  blanket  capote^  leather 
trousers,  moccasins,  and  a  fur  cap,  with  a  bright 
sash  or  girdle  to  hold  a  knife  and  a  tobacco- 
pouch.  Their  half-breed  children  are  generally 
excellent  canoe-men  and  hunters,  with  the  vi- 
vacity of  the  father,  and  the  endurance  of  the 
mother's  race.  Marcel  Bernier,  one  of  these 
French  Canadians,  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
in  the  Cowlitz  Valley ;  and  we  have  travelled 
with  him  between  the  Columbia  River  and 
Tuget  Sound,  and  once  stopped  at  ]iis  house 


t. 


ii  J- 


I 


f 


78 


FATHER  JOSEPH. 


over  night.  It  was  quite  different  from  the 
common  Indian  houses ;  having  pillow-cases 
trimmed  with  ruffles  and  lace,  and  great  bear- 
skin mats  on  the  floor.  The  baby  slept  in  a 
little  hammock  swung  from  the  ceiling.  The 
family  were  devoted  Catholics,  and  sung  mat- 
ins and  vespers,  and  had  pictures  and  images 
of  saints  about  the  room.  We  were  quite  im- 
pressed by  the  advance  in  civilization  which  the 
little  admixture  of  French  blood  had  brought. 

Christine  took  us  to  see  an  ancient  Indian 
woman,  who  remembers  the  country  when  there 
were  no  white  people  in  it.  She  has  the  fifth 
generation  of  her  children  about  her.  She  is 
wholly  blind,  her  eyes  mostly  closed,  only  little 
bloodshot  traces  of  them  left.  She  sat  serenely 
in  the  sunshine,  hollowing  .out  a  little  canoe  of 
pine-bark  for  the  youngest,  two  little  girls  who 
swam  in  the  arm  of  the  river  before  the  tent- 
door. 

We  went  with  Christine  also  up  on  the  bluff 
to  see  Father  Joseph,  a  Catholic  priest,  who 
represented  to  me  a  new  class  of  men,  whom  I 
had  known  before  only  in  books.  His  eyes 
were  as  clear  blue  as  Emerson's  ideal  ones,  that 
tell  the  truth ;  and  I  knew  he  meant  it,  when  he 
answered  a  question  I  asked  him,  in  a  way  that 
surprised  me,  and  which  I  should  have  taken, 


^'Vuy. 


UARDSniPS  OF  EARLY  MISSIONARIES. 


79 


IS 


he 
lat 
$11, 


in  some  men,  for  cant.  I  asked  him  if  it  wa? 
not  ever  solitary  there ;  and  he  said,  "  It  is 
enough  like  my  own  home  [Switzerland]  for 
that,  but  all  countries  are  alike  to  me.  We 
have  no  home  here  below."  For  twentj^-five 
years  he  has  lived  on  the  top  of  that  hill,  with 
only  miserable  Indians  around  him,  who  could 
repay  him  very  little  for  all  his  efforts.  In  the 
Indian  war,  he  was  supposed  to  be  so  strongly 
on  the  side  of  the  Indians,  that  the  government 
agent,  as  I  find  by  the  printed  report,  recom- 
mended his  removal ;  although  he  admitted  that 
it  was  hard  to  say  any  thing  against  a  man  who 
had  made  such  unbounded  sacrifices  for  what 
he  considered  the  good  of  the  Indians.  He  had 
books  in  all  langUciges  on  his  shelves,  and  was 
very  intelligent  and  court^^ous. 

He  described  the  condition  of  the  country 
when  the  first  little  band  of  Jesuits,  of  whom 
he  was  one,  entered  upon  the  Oregon  mission, 
—  Oregon  then  extending  east  as  far  as  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  They  had  often  to  travel 
through  dark  forests,  into  which  tlie  daylight 
never  entered,  and,  axe  in  hand,  make  their  own 
paths  through  the  wilderness,  sometimes  crawl- 
ing on  all-fours  through  labyrinths  of  fallen 
trees,  fording  rivers  where  the  water  reached  to 
their  shoulders,  travelling  afterwards  in  their 


f 


80 


COEUIiS  D'AL^NE. 


!     '  i 


wet  clothes,  with  swollen  limbs,  and  moccasins 
soaked  in  blood  from  laceration  of  their  feet  by 
the  thorns  of  the  prickly  pear,  and  lying  down 
at  night  on  their  beds  of  brushwood,  wrapped 
in  their  buffalo-robes.  Tlie  Indians  were  full 
of  curiosity  to  know  what  tliey  were  in  search 
of,  and  listened  with  great  interest  when  they 
attempted  to  talk  with  them.  The  first  group 
that  Father  Joseph  gathered  about  him  sat  all 
night  to  1:  .ar  him,  although  they  had  come  from 
hard  labor  of  hunting  and  fishing,  and  digging 
roots.  He  said,  that,  however  degraded  they 
were,  they  were  all  eager  to  find  some  power 
superior  to  man. 

The  tribe  among  whom  he  first  established 
himself — the  Cmurs  d'Alene  —  were  renowned 
among  all  the  tribes  for  their  belief  in  sorcery ; 
and  he  experienced  great  difficulty  in  making 
an  impression  upon  them,  from  the  opposition 
of  the  medicine-men  (jugglers).  Among  this 
tribe  he  found  two  relics  held  in  great  esteem, 
of  which  the  Indians  gave  him  this  account:  — 

They  said  that  the  first  white  man  they  ever 
saw  wore  a  spotted-calico  shirt — which  to  them 
appeared  like  the  small-pox  —  and  a  great  white 
comf()rter.>  They  thought  the  spotted  shirt  was 
the  Great  Manitou  himself,  the  master  of  the 
alarming  disease  that  swept  them  off  in  such 


WORSHIP  OF  MANITOUS. 


81 


vast  numbers,  and  that  the  white  comforter 
was  the  Manitou  of  the  snow  ;  tliat,  if  they 
could  only  secure  and  worship  them,  the  small- 
pox would  be  banished,  and  abundant  snows 
would  drive  the  buffalo  down  from  the  moun- 
tains. The  white  man  agreed  to  give  them 
up,  receiving  in  exchange  several  of  their  best 
horses;  and  for  many  years  these  two  Manitous 
were  carried  in  solemn  procession  to  a  hill  con- 
secrated to  superstitious  rites,  laid  reverently  on 
the  grass,  and  the  great  medicine-pipe  (which 
is  offered  to  the  earth,  the  sun,  and  the  water) 
was  presented  to  them ;  the  whole  band  singing, 
dancing,  and  howling  around  them. 

Father  Joseph  treated  the  Indians  altogether 
as  children,  and  devised  a  system  of  object- 
teaching,  making  little  images  representing 
what  they  were  to  shun,  and  what  to  seek,  to 
which  he  pointed  in  instructing  them.  He  con- 
sidered it  a  miracle,  that  they  yielded  their 
hearts  to  his  teaching ;  but  it  seemed  to  me,  that 
if  the  good  priest's  gentle  ways  and  entire  devo- 
tion to  their  welfare  had  produced  no  effect,  it 
would  have  been  as  contradictory  to  all  the  laws 
of  nature  as  any  miracle  could  be.  While  in- 
structing some  savages  from  Puget  Sound,  he 
said  the  idea  came  into  the  mind  of  one  of  the 
priests,  to  represenl  by  a  ladder,  which  he  made 


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82 


THE  CATHOLIC  LADDER, 


on  paper,  the  various  truths  and  mysteries  of 
religion,  in  their  chronological  order.  This 
proved  vastly  beneficial  in  instructing  them.  It 
was  called  the  "  Catholic  ladder,"  and  dissemi- 
nated ■  videly  among  the  Indians ;  their  progress 
in  religion  being  measured  by  their  knowledge 
of  this  ladder.  At  the  same  time  that  he  sent 
the  ladder  among  them,  he  sent  also  roots  and 
seeds  and  agricultural  tools.*  I  could  hardly 
repress  a  smile  at  seeing  that  he  spoke  with  the 
same  enthusiasm  of  their  success  with  the  beans 
and  potatoes,  as  with  the  ladder.  The  truth  is, 
that  he  had  deeply  at  heart  the  good  of  ihese, 
his  "  wild  children  of  the  forest,"  as  he  always 
called  them.  It  was  quite  touching  to  him,  he 
said,  to  see  how  ready  they  were  to  believe  that 
God  took  charge  of  earthly  things  as  well  as 
of  heavenly. 

One  of  his  associates  in  the  early  missions 
was  a  Belgian  priest,  whose  journal  he  showed 
us.  He  brought  over,  to  aid  in  the  work,  six 
sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  in  1844.  The  vessel 
which  brought  them  to  the  Pacific  coast  stopped 
at  Valparaiso  and  Lima,  to  inquire  how  to  entei 
the  Columbia  River.  Not  receiving  any  satis- 
factory information,  they  sailed  north  till  they 
reached  the  forty -sixth  degree  of  latitude. 
Then   they  explored  for  several  days,  and  at 


SISTERS  OF  NOTRE  DAME. 


83 


.   lit 


length  saw  a  sail  coming  out  of  what  appeared 
to  be  the  mouth  of  a  river.  They  immediately 
sent  an  officer  to  find  out  from  this  vessel  how 
to  enter ;  but,  as  he  did  not  return,  they  wei-e 
obliged  to  approach  alone  the  "  vast  and  fearful 
mouth  of  the  river,"  and  soon  found  themselves 
in  the  terrible  southern  channel,  into  which, 
they  were  assured  afterwards,  no  vessel  had  ever 
sailed  before.  The  commander  of  the  fort  at 
Astoria  had  endeavored,  by  hoisting  flags,  by 
great  signal-fires,  and  guns,  to  warn  them  of 
their  danger.  They  saw  the  signals,  but  did 
not  suspect  their  intention.  They  sailed  two 
miles  amidst  fearful  breakers.  When  at  length 
they  reached  stiller  water,  a  canoe  approached 
them,  containing  an  American  man  and  some 
Clatsop  Indians.  The  white  man  told  them  he 
would  have  come  sooner  to  their  aid,  but  the 
Indians  refused  to  brave  the  danger ;  and  said 
that  he  expected  every  moment  to  see  the  vessel 
dashed  into  a  thousand  pieces.  The  Indians, 
seeing  it  ride  triumphantly  over  the  dreadful 
bar,  considered  it  under  the  special  guidance 
of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  greeted  it  with  wild 
screams  of  delight.  This  was  the  introduction 
of  the  serene  sisters  to  their  field  of  labor.  My 
idea  of  the  sisters  generally  had  been  of  pale, 
Bad  beings,  whose  most  appropriate  place  was 


(    ft  fe 


!l 


84 


CA  TI/OLIC  CEREMONIES. 


,  FiSfflllllliffll  I 


1 

.Ir^ 

t '  *'' 

1              ' 

by  tlie  side  of  death-beds.  These  sisters  of 
Notre  Dame  were  brisk,  energetic  women,  of 
lively  temperaments.  Finding  the  building 
which  was  preparing  for  them  not  yet  provided 
with  doors  and  windows,  from  the  scarcity  of 
mechanics,  they  themselves  set  about  planing, 
glazing,  and  painting,  to  make  every  thing 
neat  and  comfortable.  Wilkes,  in  his  account 
of  his  exploring  expedition,  speaks  regretfully 
of  the  poor  appearance  the  Protestant  missions 
presented,  when  compared  with  those  of  the 
Catholics ;  there  being  among  the  former  an 
unthrifty,  dilapidated  look,  and  the  Indians  he 
saw  there  appeared  to  be  employed  only  as 
servants. 

The  Catholics  took  pains  to  make  all  tiieir 
ceremonies  as  imposing  as  circumstances  would 
permit;  making  free  use  of  musketry,  bright 
colors,  and  singing,  —  things  most  attractive  to 
an  Indian,  —  remarking  often,  "  Noise  is  essen- 
tial to  the  Indian's  enjoyment,"  and,  "  Without 
singing,  the  best  instruction  is  of  little  value." 
They  showed  the  Indians  that  thQ5rr;-3regni;dBd 
the  comfort  and  gQod)o£  ttieir[Hbddi0^,)aaiftvdti 
as  of  tlieiri  QoaJ^ ;  ?iginri«^'£lieui)  titi  !]BJas'tei'^a!g!ifffia;fc 
fd^st  af'(^oft:a)t;odsI,''iiaTBiii|)3flt«i'ilips,'beeit^,  bdaiiie^ 
aiiuiipbascrv^txDf  iilii/pf  eefe^upoiD^heirJthe  swQJvdntagbs 
ioif /A3i^iUkf  tijdn j  i  quxli( j(>aldiiiLg!  i  podii^/^  t Ji^t 1 1  iho  IxBi- 


THE   CHIEF  AND   HIS  PEOPLE. 


85 


qiiirements  of  religion  should  not  interfere  with 
the  fishery  or  the  chase.  All  the  good  customs 
and  practices  already  established  among  them, 
they  confirmed  and  approved,  and  found  much 
to  sympathize  with  in  the  Indians.  The  suavity 
and  dignified  simplicity  of  the  chiefs  particu- 
larly pleased  them,  and  the  relation  of  the  chief 
to  the  people,  —  they  consulting  him  in  regard 
to  every  public  or  private  undertaking,  as  when 
about  to  take  a  journey,  or  when  entering  upon 
marriage ;  he  regulating  the  gathering  of  roots 
and  berries,  the  hunting  and  fishing,  and  the 
division  of  spoils.  The  priests  said  of  the 
chief,  "  He  speaks  calmly,  but  never  in  vain." 
They  admired  the  self-control  of  the  Indians, 
who  never  showed  any  impatience  when  mis- 
fortunes befell  them  i  and  said,  that,  the  farther 
they  penetrated  into  the  wilderness,  the  better 
Indians  they  found.  They  were  especially 
pleased  with  those  about  the  sources  of  the 
Columbia,  and  said  of  their  converts  in  that 
region,  "If  it  be  true  that  the  prayer  of  him 
who  possesses  the  innocence,  the  simplicity,  and 
the  faith  of  a  child,  pierces  the  clouds,  then  will 
the  prayers  of  these  dear  children  of  the  forest 
reach  the  ear  of  Heaven."  They  were  interested 
in  the  different  views  of  the  future  life  held 
by  the  different  tribes.     To  those  who  lived  by 


Wf-^ 


ssn 


fill!! 


8G      FATHER  DE  SMET  AND   THE  BLACK  FEET. 

woods  and  waters,  heaven  was  a  country  of 
lakes,  streams,  and  forests ;  but  the  Blackfoot 
heaven  was  of  great  sand-hills,  stretching  far 
and  wide,  abounding  in  game. 

They  devoted  themselves  with  great  zeal  to 
reconciling  hostile  tribes,  particularly  the  Black- 
feet  and  Flat-heads.  All  the  tribes  feared  the 
Blackfeet,  especially  that  terrible  sub-tribe 
called  the  "  Blood  Indians."  The  Snakes,  too, 
were  a  common  enemy  to  all  the  river-tribes. 
Father  De  Smet,  the  Belgian  priest,  with  great 
intrepidity  started  for  the  Blackfoot  country, 
although  receiving  numerous  warnings  of  the 
risk  he  incurred.  He  encamped  in  the  heart  of 
their  country.  One  of  their  chiefs  sought  him 
out,  and  took  a  fancy  to  the  fearless  old  man 
at  sight,  embracing  him  in  savage  fashion, 
"rough  but  cordial."  This  chief  was  orna- 
mented from  head  to  foot  with  eagle-feathers, 
and  dressed  in  blue  as  a  mark  of  distinction. 
With  this  powerful  friend,  he  immediately 
gained  a  footing  among  them.  He  conducted 
towards  them  with  great  wisdom  and  kindness, 
interfering  as  little  as  possible  with  their  old 
customs.  After  he  had  made  many  converts 
among  them,  they  asked  him,  on  one  of  the 
great  days  of  the  Church,  if  he  would  like  to 
see  them  manifest  their  joy  in  their  own  way, 


A  NATIVE  DANCE. 


87 


—  by  painting,  singing,  and  dancing  ;  to  which 
he  gave  courteous  assent.  The  dance  was  per- 
formed wholly  by  women  and  children,  although 
in  the  dress  of  warriors.  Some  of  them  carried 
arms,  others  only  green  boughs.  All  took  part 
in  it,  from  the  toddling  infant  to  the  ancient 
grandam  whose  feeble  limbs  required  the  aid 
of  a  staff.  They  carried  caskets  of  plumes, 
which  nodded  in  harmony  with  their  movements, 
and  increased  the  graceful  effect.  There  was 
also  jingling  of  bells,  and  drums  beaten  by  the 
men  who  surrounded  them,  and  joined  in  the 
songs.  To  break  the  monotony,  occasionally  a 
sudden  piercing  scream  was  added.  If  the 
dance  languished,  haranguers  and  those  most 
skilful  in  grimaces  came  to  its  aid.  The  move- 
ment consisted  of  a  little  jump,  more  or  less 
lively  according  to  the  beat  of  the  drum.  It 
was  danced  on  a  beautiful  green  plain,  under  a 
cluster  of  pines.  All  the  Indians  climbed  the 
trees,  or  sat  round  on  their  horses,  to  see  it. 

The  missionaries  secured  some  of  their  read- 
iest converts  among  the  Spokanes  (children  of 
the  sun),  who  lived  mostly  on  a  great  open 
plain.  Instead  of  being  crafty  and  reserved, 
like  most  of  the  tribes  about  them,  they  were 
free  and  genial.  They  welcomed  the  earliest 
explorers,  and  lived  on  friendly  terms  with  the 


88       FATHER  DE  SMET'S  LOVE  OF  NATURE. 


I 


I 


;:itfl 


settlers.  They  were  more  susceptible  to  civili- 
zation and  improvement  than  most  of  the  other 
Indians. 

F"ather  De  Smet  was  enthusiastic  in  his  en- 
joyment of  the  forests  and  the  mountains ; 
speaking  often  of  the  "sk3'vvard  palaces  and 
lioly  towers"  among  the  hills,  "the  immortal 
pine,"  the  "rock-hung  flower,"  the  "fantastic 
grace  of  the  winding  rivers."  The  desert  coun- 
try through  which  he  travelled,  and  of  which 
we  also  saw  something  in  coming  to  this  place, 
he  called  "a'  little  Arabia  shut  in  by  stern, 
Pleaven-built  walls  of  rock."  In  the  narrow 
valleys  at  the  foot  of  the  Cascade  Mountains, 
he  found  magnificent  groves  of  rhododendrons, 
thousands  of  them  together,  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet  high,  —  green  arches  formed  underneath 
by  their  intertwined  branches ;  above,  bouquets 
of  splendid  flowers,  shading  from  deepest  crim- 
son to  pure  white. 

He  mourned  very  much  over  the  supersti- 
tions of  the  Indians;  but  said,  nevertheless, 
that  an  attack  of  severe  illness,  which  he  suf- 
fered after  one  of  his  journeys,  was  no  doubt 
sent  as  a  punishment  for  his  too  carnal  admira- 
tion of  nature. 

While  we  were  talking  with  Father  Joseph, 


EXCLUSIVENESS  OF  COEURS  D'AL£nE.       89 

and  looking  over  the  journal,  a  messenger  rode 
up  to  the  door,  and  told  him  that  Terms  Marie 
(Little  Mary)  was  dying.  The  Indian  agent, 
who  stood  by,  said,  "  It  is  not  much  of  a  loss ; 
she  is  a  worthless  creature."  Father  Joseph 
turned  to  him  in  a  most  dignified  way,  and  said, 
"It  is  a^ human  being;"  and  then  to  Christine, 
and  asked  if  she  would  lend  him  a  horse,  she 
having  a  whole  herd  at  command.  Presently 
he  started  off  for  a  whole  night's  ride.  I 
thought,  if  I  were  Little  Mary,  after  my  bad 
life,  when  I  must  enter  into  account  for  it,  I 
should  be  a  good  deal  cheered  and  supported 
to  see  his  k'nd  eyes,  and  hear  his  firm  voice 
directing  me  at  the  last. 

The  Ca3urs  d'Alene  (pointed  hearts,  or  hearts 
of  arrows  —  flint)^  were  so  called  from  their 
determined  resistance  to  having  the  white  men 
come  among  them.  They  did  not  desire  to  have 
one  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  posts  upon 
their  land,  although  the  other  tribes  favored 
their  establishment  among  them,  wishing  to 
barter  their  skins  and  obtain  fire-arms;  but 
said,  that,  if  the  white  men  saw  their  country, 
they  would  want  to  take  it  from  them,  it  was 
so  beautiful. 


1  To  the  Canadian  voyar/enr,  the  word  alene  (awl)  meant 
any  sharp-puiuted  iu3trument. 


90 


BATTLE  OF  FOUR  LAKES. 


Ml' 


Father  Joseph  was  their  interpreter  in  the 
negotiations  between  them  and  the  United- 
States  Government.  They  attacked  Col.  Step- 
toe,  while  he  was  passing  through  their  terri- 
tory, because  they  had  heard  that  the  white 
men  were  going  to  build  a  road  which  would 
drive  away  the  deer  and  the  buffalo.  It  was 
explained  to  them,  that,  although  this  was  so, 
other  advantages  would  more  than  compensate 
for  it.  This  was  beyond  their  comirehension. 
To  them,  the  advantages  of  civiliza.  n  bore  no 
comparison  to  the  charm  of  their  free,  roving 
life.  When  the  army  officers  entered  the  Coeur 
d'Alene  country,  they  declared  that  no  concep- 
tion of  heaven  could  surpass  the  beauty  of  its 
exquisite  lakes,  embosomed  in  the  forest.  This 
tribe  held  firm  against  all  propositions  of  the 
government  to  treat  with  them,  until  Donati's 
comet  appeared  in  1858 ;  when,  supposing  it  to 
be  a  great  fiery  broom  sent  to  sweep  them  from 
the  earth,  they  accepted  a  treaty. 

The  "  Battle  of  Four  Lakes  "  was  fought  in 
this  country.  An  old  man  whom  we  met  at 
the  fort  in  Walla  Walla,  who  saw  this  battle, 
gave  us  some  account  of  it.  The  lakes  are 
surrounded  with  rocks,  covered  with  pine.  Be- 
yond them  is  a  great  rolling  country  of  grassy 
hills.     For  about  two  miles,  he  said,  this  open 


BATTLE  OF  FOUR  LAKES, 


91 


ground  was  all  alive  with  the  wildest,  most  fan- 
tastic figures  of  mounted  Indians,  witli  painted 
liorses,  having  eagle-feathers  braided  into  tlieir 
tails  and  manes;  each  Indian  fighting  separately 
on  his  own  account.  He  described  to  us  the 
appearance  of  the  war  chief  as  he  rode  to  ])at- 
tle,  liis  own  head  hidden  by  a  wolfs  head,  with 
stiff,  sharp  ears  standing  erect,  ornamented 
with  bears'  claws,  and  under  it  a  circlet  of 
feathers.  From  this  head  depended  a  long 
train  of  feathers  that  floated  dowi^  his  back; 
the  loss  of  wliich  would  be  the  loss  of  his  honor, 
and  as  great  a  disaster  to  him  as,  to  a  China- 
man, the  loss  of  his  cue.  His  war-horse  was 
painted,  as  well  as  his  own  person,  and  also 
profusely  decorated  with  feathers  on  head  and 
tail.  The  Indians  have  such  a  fancy  for  feath- 
ers, that,  in  some  of  their  medicine  ceremonies, 
they  smear  their  heads  with  a  sticky  substance, 
and  cover  them  all  over  with  swan's-down. 

Lieut.  Mullan's  surveying  expedition  roused 
many  of  the  tribes  to  desperation.  Owhi,  the 
Yakima  chief,  when  urged  to  give  up  his  land, 
—  or,  what  amounted  to  the  same  thing,  to  allow 
free  passage  to  the  surveying-party  and  the 
road-makers,  —  argued  that  he  could  not  give 
away  the  home  of  his  people;  saying,  "It  is  not 
mine  to  give.     Tlie  Great  Spirit  has  measured  it 


92 


THE    YAKIMA   CHIEF. 


to  my  people."  Not  being  successful  in  his 
arguments,  lie  organized  the  outbrojik  of  the  fol- 
lowing winter.  The  army  destroyed  the  caches 
filled  with  dried  berries,  and  the  pressed  cuke 
whiuh  the  Indians  prepare  from  roots  for  their 
winter  food,  many  lodges  filled  with  grain,  and 
Inuidreds  of  horses  ;  the  officers  mentioning  in 
their  report,  that  it  would  insure  the  Indians 
a  winter  of  great  suffering,  and  concluding  in 
these  words :  "  Seldom  has  an  expedition  been 
undertaken,  the  recollection  of  wdiieh  is  in- 
vested with  so  much  that  is  agreeable,  as  that 
against  the  Northern  Indians.'* 


VI. 


Colville  to  Seattle. —  "  Red." —'« Forrins.  "Broke  Mi- 
ners." —  A  Rare  Fellow-Traveller.  --  The  JJell-Mare.  — 
Pelouse  Fall.  —  Red-fox  Road.  —  Earlv  Califoruians.  — 
Frying-pan  Incense.  —  Dragon-flies.  —  '  .;ath  of  the  Chief 
Seattle. 

Seattlk,  Aug.  2.1, 1866. 

"TTTE  were  detained  at  Fort  Oolvillt;  several 
V  V  days  longer  than  we  desired,  seeking  an 
opportunity  to  get  back  to  the  Columbia  River, 
by  some  chance  wagon  going  down  from  the 
mines,  or  from  some  of  the  sujjplv-stations  in 
the  upper  country.  In  our  expedition  on  the 
"Forty-nine,"  we  had  seen  a  great  many  nu- 
ners,  and,  among  them,  one  horrid  character, 
with  a  flaming  beard,  who  was  known  by  every 
one  as  "Red."  He  had  been  mining  in  the 
snow  mountains,  far  up  in  British  Columbia, 
and  joined  us  to  go  down  on  the  steamer  to 
Colville.  He  was  terribly  rough  and  tattered- 
looking.  The  mining-season  in  those  northern 
mountains  is  so  short,  that  he  said  he  was  going 
back  to  winter  at  the  mines,  so  as  lo  be  on  the 

93 


94 


"  FERRINS." 


spot  for  work  in  the  spring,  and  that  he  should 
take  up  about  forty  gallons  of  grease  to  keep 
himself  warm  through  tlie  winter. 

He  and  his  companions  told  great  stories 
about  their  rough  times  in  the  mountains. 
Some  of  them  mentioned  having  been  reduced 
to  the  extremity  of  living  on  "  ferrins  "  when 
all  other  food  had  failed.  These  accounts  were 
generally  received,  by  the  rest  of  the  miners,  with 
great  outbursts  of  laughter.  That  appeared  to 
be  their  customary  way  of  regarding  all  their 
misfortunes,  —  at  least,  in  the  retrospect.  We 
wondered  what  the  "ferrins"  could  be.  No- 
body seemed  to  resort  to  them,  exce[)t  in  the 
direst  need.  Upon  inquiry,  we  found  out  that 
they  were  boiled  ferns.  I  have  always  noticed 
that  even  insects  of  all  kinds  pass  by  ferns.  I 
suspect  that  even  the  hungriest  man  would  find 
them  rather  unsatisfying,  but  this  light  diet 
seemed  to  have  kept  them  in  the  most  jovial 
spirits. 

R.  was  rather  averse  to  travelling  in  such 
company,  and  always  presented  "  Red  "  to  me 
as  the  typical  miner,  when  opportunities  offered 
for  our  getting  down  from  Colville  with  a  party 
from  the  mines.  Finally  I  persuaded  him  to 
accept  either  "  Buffalo  Bill,"  who  offered  to 
take  us  by  ourselves,  or  an  Irishman  who  in- 


BROKE  MINERS.''' 


1)5 


sisted  upon  having  a  few  miners  with  liiin.  I 
think  he  was  rather  prejudiced  against  the 
former,  on  account  of  his  name ;  and  we  there- 
fore made  an  agreement  with  the  latter,  to  take 
us,  with  only  two  miners,  instead  of  ten  as  he 
at  first  desired,  that  R.  should  see  them  be- 
fore we  started,  and  that  we  should  have  the 
wagon  to  ourselves  at  night.  As  it  happened, 
we  left  in  haste,  and  did  not  see  the  miners 
until  they  leaped  from  the  wagon,  and  began 
to  assist  in  putting  in  our  baggage.  That  was 
not  an  occasion,  of  course,  for  criticising  them. 
Besides  that,  I  saw,  when  I  first  looked  at 
them,  that  they  were  rather  harder  to  read 
than  most  people  I  had  met ;  and  I  could  not 
in  a  minute  tell  what  to  make  of  them.  Our 
wagoner  said  they  were  "  broke  miners."  I  did 
TiOt  know  exactly  what  that  meant,  but  thought 
they  might  be  very  desperate  characters,  made 
more  so  by  special  circumstances.  One  of 
them  looked  like  a  brigand,  with  his  dark  hair 
and  eyes.  But  I  didn't  mind ;  for  I  was  tired 
of  travelling  about,  and  anxious  to  get  home. 
I  thoughr  I  would  sleep  most  of  the  way  down  ; 
so  I  put  back  my  head,  and  shut  my  eyes. 
Presently  the  dark  man  began  to  talk  with 
R.,  in  a  musical  voice,  about  the  soft  Spanish 
names  of  places  in  California ;  and  I  could  not 


96 


A  RARE  FELLOW-TRAVELLER. 


I 


sleep  much.  Tlien  he  spoke  of  the  primitive 
forms  ill  which  miiicriils  crystallized,  the  five- 
sided  coluiiins  of  volcanic  rock,  and  the  little 
cubes  of  gold.  I  could  make  no  pretence  at 
sleep  any  longer ;  I  had  to  open  my  eyes ;  and 
once  in  a  while  I  asked  a  question  or  two,  al- 
though I  would  not  show  much  interest,  and 
determined  not  to  become  at  all  acquainted 
with  him,  because  we  were  necessarily  to  be 
very  intimate,  travelling  all  day  together,  and 
camping  together  at  night.  But  I  watched  hiin 
a  great  deal,  and  listened  to  his  conversation 
upon  many  subjects.  I  think,  that  not  only  on 
this  journey,  but  in  all  the  time  since  we  came 
to  this  coast,  we  have  not  enjoyed  any  thing 
else  so  much.  lie  had  uncommon  powers  of 
expression,  and  of  thought  and  feeling  too,  and 
took  great  interest  in  every  thing.  He  had  even 
a  little  tin  box  of  hisects.  lie  showed  us  the 
native  grains,  wild  rice,  etc.,  the  footprints  of 
animals,  the  craters  of  old  volcanoes,  and  called 
us  to  listen  to  the  wild  doves  at  night,  and  the 
cry  of  the  loon  and  the  curlew. 

We  travelled  in  a  large  freight-wagon,  drawn 
by  four  mules.  A  pretty  little  '^  bell-mare" 
fe)ll()\ved  the  waGfon.  At  nifflit  she  was  tied 
out  oil  the  i)lain  ;  and  the  mules  were  turned 
loose  to  feed,  and  were   kept  from  wandering 


A  RARE   FELLOW-TRAVELLER. 


97 


far  away  by  the  tinkle  of  the  bell  hung  on  her 
neck.  We  slept  on  beautiful  flowering  grass, 
which  our  wagoner  procured  for  us  on  the  way. 
When  he  tied  great  bunches  of  it  on  the  front 
of  the  wagon,  to  feed  the  animals  when  they 
came  to  a  barren  place,  it  looked  as  if  we  were 
preparing  to  take  part  in  some  floral  procession. 
The  first  niglit,  we  camped  in  the  midst  of  the 
pine-trees.  When  I  woke  in  the  night,  and 
looked  round  me,  the  row  of  dark  figures  on 
either  side  seemed  like  the  genii  in  "  The  Ara- 
bian Nights,"  that  used  to  guard  sleeping  prin- 
cesses. 

IJesides  the  knowledge  which  our  fellow-trav- 
eller possessed  of  the  country  tlu'ough  which 
we  were  passing,  which  made  him  a  vahiable 
companion  to  us  then,  liis  general  enthusiasm 
would  have  made  him  interesting  an3^where.  I 
remember  a  little  incident  at  one  of  our  noon 
stopping-places,  which  we  thought  was  very 
much  to  his  credit.  He  always  hastened  to 
mnke  a  fire  as  soon  as  we  sto2)ped.  It  was 
rather  hard  to  find  good  places,  sheltered  from 
tlie  wind,  where  it  would  burn,  and  wliich 
would  furnish  us,  too,  with  a  little  shade.  On 
this  occasion  there  was  a  magnificent  tree  very 
near  us.  We  were  passing  out  of  the  region  of 
trees,  so  it  was  a  particularly  welcome  sight. 


98 


A  RARE  FELLOW-TRAVELLER. 


He  started  the  fire  close  to  it.  It  happened  to 
be  too  near;  the  pitch  caught  fire,  and  pres- 
ently the  trunk  was  encircled  with  flame.  lie 
was  desperate  to  think  that  he  should  have 
been  guilty  of  an  act  of  "  such  wanton  destruc- 
tiveness,"as  he  called  it,  —  especially  as  it  was 
the  last  fine  tree  on  the  road.  He  abandoned 
all  idea  of  dinner,  and  did  nothing  through 
that  fiery  noon,  when  we  could  hardly  stir  from 
the  shade,  — which  we  found  farther  off,  — but 
rush  between  the  stream  near  by  and  the  tree, 
with  his  little  camp-kettle  of  water,  to  try  to 
save  it.  lie  looked  back  with  such  a  grateful 
face,  as  we  left  the  s^)ot,  to  see  that  the  flames 
were  smothered.  There  was  something  like  a 
child  about  him ;  that  is,  an  uncommon  free- 
dom from  the  wickedness  that  seems  to  belong 
to  most  men,  certainly  the  class  he  is  in  the 
habit  of  associating  with.  I  doubt  if  there  is 
one  of  the  men  we  saw  on  tlie  "  Forty-nine  " 
who  would  not  have  been  delighted  to  burn  that 
tree  down ;  and  how  few  of  them  would  have 
thought,  as  he  did,  to  put  the  little  pieces  of 
wood  that  we  had  to  spare,  where  fuel  was 
scarce,  into  the  road,  so  that  "  some  other  old 
fellow,  who  might  chance  to  come  along,  might 
see  them  and  use  them  "  ! 

He  told  us  ot!e,  beautiful  story  about  miners, 


PELOUSE  FALL. 


99 


though,  in  connection  with  the  loss  of  the 
"  Central  America."  He  had  a  friend  on  board 
among  the  passengers,  who  were  almost  all 
miners  going  home.  When  they  all  expected 
to  perish  with  the  vessel,  a  Danish  brig  hove 
in  sight,  and  came  to  the  rescue.  But  the  pas- 
sengers could  not  all  be  transferred  to  her. 
Tliey  filled  the  ship's  boats  with  their  wives 
and  their  treasure,  and  sent  them  off;  and  the 
great  body  of  them  went  down  with  a  cheer 
and  a  shout,  as  the  vessel  keeled  over. 

The  event  of  special  interest,  in  our  journey 
home,  was  our  visit  to  the  Pelouse  Fall.  We 
had  heard  that  there  was  a  magnificent  fall  on 
the  Pelouse,  twelve  miles  by  trail  from  the  wag- 
on-road, which  we  were  very  desirous  of  seeing; 
but  no  one  could  give  us  exact  directions  for 
finding  it.  Our  friend  the  miner  wanted  very 
much  to  see  it  also ;  and  as  he  seemed  to  have 
quite  an  instinct  for  finding  his  way,  by  rock 
formations  and  other  natural  features  of  the 
'^ountry,  we  ventured  to  attempt  it  with  him. 
The  little  bell-mare,  which  was  a  cayuu  (In- 
dian) horse,  was  offered  for  my  use,  and  an  old 
Spanish  wooden  saddle  placed  upon  her  back. 
I  had  no  bridle ;  but  I  had  been  presented  at 
the  fort  with  a  hackama  (a  buffalo-hair  rope), 
such  as  the  Indians  use  with  their  horses.    This 


fi 


100 


PE LOUSE  FALL. 


was  attached  to  the  head  of  the  horse,  so  that 
the  miner  could  lead  her.  My  saddle  had  an 
arrangement  in  front  by  which  to  attach  the 
hisso,  in  catching  animals.  The  miner  said 
that  just  the  same  pattern  was  still  in  use  in 
Andalusia  and  other  Spanish  provinces.  I  felt 
as  if  I  were  starting  on  quite  a  new  career. 
When  he  lifted  me  on  to  the  horse,  he  said, 
"  How  light  you  are  ! "  It  was  because  every 
care  had  dropped  off  from  me. 

We  rode  over  the  wildest  desert  country, 
with  great  black  walls  of  rock,  and  wonderful 
canons,  with  perpendicular  sides,  extending  far 
down  into  the  earth.  Mr.  Bowlee,  in  his  book, 
"Across  the  Continent,"  says  he  cannot  com- 
pare any  thing  else  to  the  exhilaration  of  the  air 
of  the  upland  plains ;  neither  sea  nor  mountain 
air  can  equal  it.  The  extreme  heat,  too,  seemed 
to  intensify  every  thing  in  us,  even  our  power 
of  enjoyment,  notwithstanding  the  discomfort 
of  it.  The  thermometer  marked  117°  in  the 
shade.  I  felt  as  if  I  had  never  before  known 
what  breezes  and  shadows  and  streams  were. 
Just  as  we  had  reached  the  last  limit  of  pos- 
sible endurance,  the  shadow  of  some  great  wall 
of  rock  would  fall  upon  us,  or  a  little  breeze 
spring  up,  or  we  would  find  the  land  descend- 
ing to  the  bed  of  a  stream.    At  length  our 


PE LOUSE  FALL. 


101 


miner,  who  had  been  for  the  last  part  of  the 
way  looking  and  listening  with  the  closest  at- 
tention, struck  almost  directly  to  the  spot, 
liaidly  a  step  astray.  It  was  all  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth,  so  that  hardly  any  sound  rose 
above  ;  and  there  was  no  sign  of  any  path  to  it, 
not  a  tree,  nor  shrub,  nor  blade  of  grass  near, 
but  an  amphitheatre  of  rock,  and  the  beautiful 
white  river,  in  its  leap  into  the  canon  falling 
a  hundred  and  ninety  feet.  The  cliffs  and  jag- 
ged pinnacles  of  basaltic  rock  around  it  were 
several  hundred  feet  high.  It  looked  like  a 
great  white  bridal  veil.  It  was  made  up  of 
myriads  of  snowy  sheaves,  sometimes  with  tlie 
faintest  amethyst  tint.  It  shattered  itself 
wholly  into  spray  before  it  struck  the  water 
below,  —  that  is,  the  outer  circumference  of  it, 
—  and  the  inner  part  was  all  that  made  any 
sound. 

The  miner  looked  upon  it  with  perfect  rap- 
ture. He  said  to  me,  "  It  is  a  rare  pleasure  to 
travel  with  any  one  who  enjoys  any  thing  of 
this  kind."     I  felt  it  so  too. 

His  striking  directly  at  the  spot,  after  many 
miles  of  travel,  without  any  landmarks,  re- 
minded me  of  the  experience  of  Ross,  the  Hud- 
son Bay  trader,  when  he  travelled  from  Fort 
Okanagan  on  foot,  two  hundred  miles  to  the 


102 


RED  FOX  ROAD. 


h\ 

a 

\' '  ii  II 

i 

I'll 

coast,  taking  with  him  an  Indian,  who  told  him 
the}^  would  go  by  the  Red  Fox  road ,  that  is, 
the  road  by  which  Red  Fox  the  chief  and  his 
men  used  to  go.  After  they  had  travelled  a 
long  distance  over  a  pathless  country,  witliout 
any  sign  of  a  trail,  or  climbed  along  the  rocky 
banks  of  streams,  he  asked  his  guide  wher  hey 
would  reach  the  Red  Fox  road.  "This  s  it, 
you  are  on,"  was  the  reply.  *'  Where?  "  eagerly 
inquired  Ross:  "I  see  no  road  here,  not  even 
so  much  as  a  rabbit  could  walk  on."  —  "Oh, 
there  is  no  road,"  answered  the  Indian :  "  this 
is  the  place  where  they  used  to  pass." 

At  .  iiother  time,  when  he  was  travelling  with 
an  Indian  guide,  who  was  accompanied  by  some 
of  his  relatives,  the  latter  were  left  at  a  place 
called  Friendly  Lake,  and  were  to  be  called 
for  on  their  return.  They  went  on  to  their 
journe3''s  end,  and  on  their  way  back,  some 
days  after,  stopped  at  the  place ;  but  no  sign  of 
the  relatives  appeared.  The  guide,  however, 
searched  about  diligently,  and  preseintly  pointed 
to  a  small  stick,  stuck  up  in  the  ground,  with 
a  little  notch  in  it.  lie  said,  "  They  are  there," 
pointing  in  the  direction  in  which  the  stick 
slanted, — "one  day's  journey  off."  Exactly 
there  they  were  found. 

There  was  a  kind  of  generosity  about  this 


.:iii)i 


EARLY  CALTFORNTANS. 


103 


"  broke  miner,"  that  made  lis  ready  to  forgive 
a  great  deal  in  him.  No  doubt  there  would 
liave  been  a  great  deal  to  forgive  if  we  had 
known  him  more.  He  was,  very  likely,  in  the 
liubit  of  drinking  and  gambling,  like  the  others 
that  we  saw.  I  know  he  was  a  terrible  tobacco 
chewer  and  smoker.  He  has  been  seventeen 
years  on  the  Pacific  side  of  the  continent,  came 
out  as  a  "forty-niner,"  has  tra\elled  a  great 
deal,  and  taken  notes  of  all  he  has  seen,  and 
said  he  thought  of  making  use  of  them  some 
time,  if  his  employments  would  ever  admit  of 
it.  I  think  he  is  the  best  fitted  to  describe  the 
country,  of  all  the  persons  I  have  met. 

He  gave  us  quite  a  vivid  idea  of  the  semi- 
barbarous  life  of  the  California  pioneers,  and  of 
tlie  intense  desire  they  sometimes  felt  for  a 
glimpse  of  their  homes,  their  wives,  and  chil- 
dren. I  remembered  Starr  King's  saying  that 
women  and  children  had  been  more  highly  ap- 
preciated in  California  ever  since,  on  account 
of  their  scarcity  during  the  first  few  years.  I 
rather  think  the  sentiment  of  the  miners  was 
somewhat  intensified  by  the  extreme  difficulty 
they  found  in  doing  women's  work.  One  of 
tliem,  now  an  eminent  pliysician,  pricked  and 
scarred  his  fingers  in  the  most  distressing  man- 
ner, in  attempting  to  sew  on  his  buttons,  and 


iftS 


104 


EARLY  CALTFORNIANS. 


patch  the  rents  in  his  garments.  Another 
member  of  the  camp,  who  was  afterwards  gov- 
ernor of  the  State,  won  his  first  laurels  as  a 
cook,  by  the  liappy  discovery,  that,  by  coml)in- 
ing  an  acid  with  tlie  alkali  used  in  the  making 
of  their  bread,  the  result  was  vastly  more  satis- 
factory than  wlicre  the  alkali  alone  was  used. 
In  crossing  the  plains,  they  had  used  the  alkali 
water  found  tliere  for  this  purpose. 

A  travelling  theatrical  company,  who  pre- 
sented themselves  with  the  announcement  tliat 
they  would  perform  a  drama  entitled  "  The 
Wife,"  met  with  unbounded  a[)prcciation.  Car- 
penters were  employed  at  sixteen  dollars  a  day 
to  prepare  for  its  presentation.  This  was  the 
first  play  ever  acted  in  San  Francisco.  The 
company  were  encouraged  to  remain,  and  give 
other  performances ;  but,  as  there  was  only  one 
lady  actor,  every  play  had  to  be  altered  to 
conform  to  this  condition  of  things. 

The  most  tempting  advertisement  a  restau- 
rant could  offer  was,  "  potatoes  at  every  meal." 
Those  who  indulged  in  fresh  eggs  did  so  at  an 
expense  of  one  dollar  per  eg^. 

Wlien  the  signal  from  Telegraph  Hill  an- 
nounced the  arrival  of  the  monthly  mail-steamer, 
there  Avas  a  general  rush  for  the  post-ofRce ;  and 
a  long  line  was  formed,  reaching  from  the  office 


EAJiL  y  CALIFORNIANS. 


105 


out  to  the  tents  in  the  chai)pariil.  The  build- 
ing was  a  small  one,  and  the  facilities  for  assort- 
ing and  delivering  the  mail  so  limited,  that 
many  hours  were  consumed  in  the  work.  Large 
prices  were  often  paid  for  places  near  the  head 
of  the  line ;  and  some  of  the  more  eager  ones 
would  wrap  their  blankets  around  them,  and 
stand  all  night  waiting,  in  order  to  get  an  early 
chance. 

Thus,  with  endless  stories  and  anecdotes,  ac- 
counts of  his  adventures  as  a  miner  and  explorer, 
and  descrijitions  of  the  new  and  wonderful 
places  he  had  visited,  and  the  curious  people 
he  had  met,  our  fellow-traveller  beguiled  the 
tediousness  of  the  journey,  and  continually  en- 
tertained us. 

As  we  approached  Walla  Walla,  we  made  our 
List  camp  at  the  Touchet,  a  lovely  stream.  I 
woke  in  the  morning  feeling  as  if  some  te  Iblo 
misfortune  had  befallen  us.  I  could  not  tell 
what,  until  I  was  fully  roused,  and  found  it 
could  be  nothing  else  than  that  we  must  sleep 
in  a  bed  that  night. 

We  left  our  miner  in  Walla  Walla,  to  get 
work,  I  thuik,  as  a  machinist.  My  acquaint- 
ance with  him  was  a  lesson  to  me,  never  to 
judge  any  one  by  appearance  or  occupation. 
We  met  afterwards  some  little,  common-look- 


fr 


106 


FR  yjy  G-l'AN  INCENSE. 


i  '  ! 

ing  men,  who  liiid  been  so  successful  at  the 
luines  that  tlicy  could  liurdly  carry  their  sacks 
of  gold-dust,  which  made  hard  white  ridges  in 
their  hands.  Tliey  had  iii'teeu  thousand  dollars 
or  more  apiece.  I  tliought,  how  unequally  and 
unwisely  Fate  distributes  her  gifts ;  but  then, 
us  Mrs.  S.  said  when  there  was  such  a  rush  fur 
the  garments  brought  on  board  the  steamer  for 
us  at  Panama,  after  our  shipwreck,  "Let  thoL^e 
Lave  them  who  can  least  gracefully  support  the 
want  of  them." 

Among  the  miners  of  the  upper  country,  who 
had  not  seen  a  white  woman  for  a  year,  I 
received  such  honors,  that  I  am  afraid  I  should 
have  had  a  very  mistaken  impression  of  my 
importance  if  I  had  lived  long  among  them. 
At  every  stopping-place  they  made  little  fires 
in  their  frying-pans,  and  set  them  around  me, 
to  keep  off  the  mosquitoes,  while  I  took  my 
meal.  As  the  columns  of  smoke  rose  about  me, 
I  felt  like  a  heathen  goddess,  to  whom  incense 
was  being  offered.  The  mosquitoes  were  terri- 
ble ;  but  we  found  our  compensation  for  them 
in  the  journey  homeward.  I  remember  the  ento- 
mology used  to  call  the  dragon-fly  the  "mos- 
quito-hawk ; "  and  such  dragon-flies  I  never 
before  saw  as  we  met  with  near  the  rivers,  espe- 
cially at  the  Pclouse.     There  seemed  to  be  a 


ll 


DHAUON-FLIES, 


107 


festival  of  them  there,  iind  one  Y\v'\  of  such 
11  green  as  I  believe  never  was  seen  before 
on  earth,  —  so  exc^uisite  a  shade,  and  so  vivid. 
There  were  also  burnished  silver  and  gold  ones, 
and  every  beautiful  variety  of  spotting  and 
marking.  A  little  Indian  boy  appeared  there, 
dressed  in  feathers,  with  a  hawk  on  his  wrist, 
—  a  wild,  spirited-looking  little  creature. 

On  Sunday  we  reaehed  Olympia,  and  saw  the 
waters  of  the  Sound,  and  the  old  l^'adlands 
again.  I  had  no  idea  it  could  look  so  homelike; 
and  when  the  mountain  range  began  to  reveal 
itself  from  the  mist,  I  felt  as  if  nothing  we  had 
seen  while  we  were  gone  had  been  more  beauti- 
ful, more  really  impressive,  than  what  we  could 
look  at  any  day  from  our  own  kitchen-door. 

As  we  approached  Seattle,  we  began  to  gather 
up  the  news.  It  is  very  much  more  of  an  event 
to  get  back,  when  you  have  had  no  newspapers, 
and  only  the  rarest  communication  of  any  kind, 
while  you  have  been  gone. 

Seattle,  the  old  chief,  had  died.  When  he 
was  near  his  end,  he  sent  word  over  to  the 
nearest  settlement,  that  he  wished  Capt.  Meigs, 
the  owner  of  the  great  sawmill  at  Port  Madi- 
son, to  come  when  he  was  dead,  and  take  him 
by  the  hand,  and  bid  him  farewell. 

We  learned  that  the  beautiful  Port  Angeles 


ill 


108 


PORT  ANGELES  ABANDONED. 


was  to  be  abandoned,  —  Congress  having  decided 
to  remove  the  custom-house  to  Port  Townsend, 
—  and  that  no  vessels  wouhl  go  in  there.  It 
seemed  like  leaving  Andromeda  on  her  rock. 
We  are  going  down  to  make  a  farewell  visit. 


Y^ 


VII. 


Port  Angeles  Village  and  the  ^^dian  Ranch.  —  A  "  Ship's 
Kluutchman.^'  —  Indian  MiJ'k-a-Mncl-.  —  Disposition  of  an 
Old  Indian  Woman.  —  A  Windy  Trip  to  Victoria. — The 
Black  Tumdhnous.  —  McDonald's  in  the  Wilderness.  — 
The  Wild  Cowlitz.  —Up  the  River  during  a  Flood.  —  In- 
dian Boatmen.  —  Birch-bark  and  Cedar  Canoes. 

Ediz  Hook,  Oct.  21, 1860. 

"TTTE  are  making  a  visit  at  the  end  of  Ediz 
W  Hook.  No  one  lives  here  now  but  the 
Hght-keepers.  When  we  feel  the  need  of  com- 
pany, we  look  across  to  the  village  of  Port 
Angeles  and  the  Indian  ranch.  It  is  very  strik- 
ing to  see  bow  much  more  picturesque  one  is 
than  the  other,  in  the  distance.  In  the  village, 
all  the  trees  have  been  cut  down  ;  but  the  lodges 
ol  the  Indians  stand  in  the  midst  of  a  maple 
grove,  and  in  this  Indian-summer  weather  there 
is  al\va}'s  a  lovely  haze  about  it,  bright  leaves, 
and  blue  beams  of  mist  across  the  trees.  Liv- 
ing so  much  out  of  doors  as  they  do,  and  in 
open  lodges,  their  little  fires  are  often  seen,  giv- 
ing their  ranch  a  hospitable  look,  and  making 

109 


?™ll 


14 

m 


no 


A   ''SJJIF'S  KLOOTCllMAN.'' 


-iliii 


the  appearance  of  the  village  very  uninviting 
in  comparison. 

Oct.  20,  ]^8(3(). 

We  have  had  a  great  storm ;  and  last  T"";^ht, 
about  dark,  a  white  figure  of  a  woman  appeared 
in  the  water,  rising  and  falling,  outside  the 
breakers.  Some  Indians  went  out  in  thc'ir 
canoes,  and  took  her  in  to  the  shore.  One  of 
them  came  to  tell  us  about  it.  A  "  ship's  klootcli- 
man "  (wife  or  woman),  he  said  it  was,  and  a 
*'  hyas  [big]  ship  "  must  have  gone  down.  It 
was  the  figure-head  of  a  vessel.  The  next 
morning,  I  saw  that  the  Indians  had  set  it 
up  on  the  sand,  with  great  wings  —  which  they 
made  of  broken  pieces  of  spars  —  at  the  sides. 
It  was  the  large,  handsome  figure  of  woman, 
twice  life-size.  They  seemed  to  regard  it  as  a 
kind  of  goddess ;  and  I  felt  half  inclined  to,  my- 
self, she  looked  out  so  serenely  at  the  water.  I 
sat  down  by  her  side,  thinking  about  what  had 
probably  happened,  to  try  to  get  her  calm  way 
of  regarding  it.  A  sloop  was,  sent  over  from 
tlie  custom-house,  to  take  it  across  the  bay  for 
identification ;  but  that  proved  imi)racticable. 
The  captain  said  that  he  knew  the  work,  — 
it  was  English  carving.  Soon  after,  a  vessel 
came  in,  having  lost  her  figure-head.  The  men 
on  board  said  that  a  strange  shix^  ran  into  her 


DISPOSITION  or  AN  OLD  INDIAN    WOMAN.      Ill 


in  the  niglit,  and  immediately  disappeared. 
They  supposed  she  was  much  injured,  as  they 
afterwards  saw  a  deck-load  of  lumber  floating, 
which  they  thought  had  come  from  her.  They 
said  it  might  be  the  "Radama,"  bound  for 
China. 

Oct.  29, 1866. 

To-day,  when  we  were  coasting  along  the 
shore,  we  saw  Yeomans  preparing  his  canoe  for 
a  long  excursion.  It  was  lined  with  mats.  In 
the  middle  were  two  of  the  baskets  the  Indians 
weave  from  roots,  filled  with  red  salmon-spawn. 
Against  them  lay  a  gray  duck,  with  snowy 
breast;  tlien,  deer-meat,  and  various  kinds  of 
fishes.  Over  the  whole  he  had  laid  great  green 
leaves  that  looked  like  the  leaves  of  the  tulip- 
tree.  The  narrow  end  of  the  canoe  was  filled 
with  purple  sea-urchins,  all  alive,  and  of  the 
most  vivid  color.  I  took  one  up,  and  asked  him 
if  they  were  good  to  eat.  He  said,  "Indian 
muck-a-muck^  not  for  Bostons  "  (whites).  His 
arrangements  looked  a  great  deal  more  pictur- 
esque than  our  preparations  for  picnics. 

The  light-keeper  at  Ediz  Hook  told  us  to-day 
that  he  had  exhumed  an  old  Indian  woman, 
whom  some  of  her  tribe  had  buried  alive,  or, 
rather,  wrapped  up  and  laid  away  in  one  of  the 
little  wooden  huts  in  their  graveyard,  according 


112 


A    WINDY  TRIP  TO   VICTORIA. 


to  tlieir  custom  of  disposing  of  tlie  dead.  They 
had  'ippareiitly  become  tired  of  the  care  of  her, 
and  concluded  to  anticipate  her  natural  exit 
from  the  world  by  this  summary  disposition 
of  her.  Mr.  S.  heard  her  cries,  and  went  to 
the  rescue.  He  restored  her  to  the  tribe,  with 
a  reprimand  for  their  barbarity,  and  told  them 
the  Bostons  would  not  tolerate  such  memhchie 
(outrageous)  proceedings. 


-4< 


Port  Angeles,  Oct.  31, 1866. 
"We  made  a  spirited  voyage  to  Victoria,  across 
the  Straits  of  Fuca.  There  had  been  a  very 
severe  storm,  which  we  thought  was  over ;  but 
it  had  a  wild  ending,  after  we  were  on  our 
way,  and  beyond  the  ijossibility  of  return.  We 
saw  the  California  steamer,  ocean-bound,  put- 
ting back  to  port.  Our  only  course  was  to 
hasten  on.  The  spray  was  all  rainbows,  and 
there  were  low  rainbows  in  the  sky,  —  incom- 
prehensible rainbows  above  and  below,  —  and 
the  strongest  wind  that  ever  blew.  It  was  all 
too  wonderful  for  us  to  be  afraid :  it  was  like  a 
new  existence  ;  as  if  we  had  cast  off  all  connec- 
tion with  the  old  one,  and  were  spirits  only. 
We  flew  past  the  high  shores,  and  looked  up 
at  the  happy,  homelike  houses,  with  a  strange 
feeling  of  isolation  and  independence  of  all 
earthly  ties. 


THE  BLACK  TAMAHNOUS. 


113 


I  staid  on  deck  till  every  man  had  gone  in, 
feeling  that  I  belonged  wholly  to  wind  and 
wave,  borne  on  like  a  bird.  But  the  captain 
came  and  took  me  in,  lest  I  should  be  swept 
from  the  deck.  When  we  reached  Victoria, 
great  wooden  signs  were  being  blown  off  the 
stores,  and  knocking  down  the  people  in  the 
streets.    This  is  certainly  the  home  of  the  winds. 


Nov.  20, 1866. 

To-day  we  met  on  the  beach  Tleyuk  (Spark 
of  Fire),  a  young  Indian  with  whom  we  had 
become  acquainted.  Instead  of  the  pleasant 
''^ Klaho^vya''^  (How  do  you  do?),  with  which  he 
was  accustomed  to  greet  us,  he  took  no  notice 
of  us  whatever.  On  coming  nearer,  we  saw 
hideous  streaks  of  black  paint  on  his  face,  and 
on  various  parts  of  his  body,  and  inquired  what 
they  meant.  His  English  was  very  meagre ; 
but  he  gave  us  to  understand,  in  a  few  hoarse 
gutturals,  that  they  meant  hostility  and  dan- 
ger to  any  onf^  that  interfered  with  him.  We 
noticed  afterwards  other  Indians,  with  dark, 
tlireatening  looks,  and  daubed  with  black 
paint,  gathering  from  different  directions.  The 
old  light-keeper  was  launching  his  boat  to  cross 
over  to  the  spit,  and  we  turned  to  him  for  an 
explanation.    He  warned  us  to  keep  away  from 


!^i 


lU        MCDONALD'S  IN  THE   WILDERNESS. 

the  Indians,  as  this  was  the  time  of  the  "  Black 
Tamdhnous^'^  when  they  call  up  all  their  hos- 
tility to  the  whites.  He  pointed  to  some  Indian 
children,  who  had  a  white  elk-horn,  like  a  dwarf 
white  man,  stuck  up  in  the  sand  to  throw  stones 
at.  I  had  noticed  for  the  last  few  days,  when 
I  met  them  in  the  narrow  paths  in  the  woods, 
that  they  stopped  straight  before  me,  obliging 
me  to  turn  aside  for  them. 

We  saw  them  withdraw  to  an  old  lodge  in 
the  woods,  as  if  to  hold  a  secret  council.  We 
did  not  feel  much  concerned  as  to  the  result 
of  it  for  ourselves,  as  we  held  such  friendly 
relations  to  Yeomans,  the  old  chief,  and  had 
always  given  the  Indians  all  the  sea-bread  they 
wanted,  —  that  being  the  one  article  of  our 
food  that  they  seemed  most  to  appreciate.  As 
it  proved,  it  was  a  mere  thunder-cloud,  dissi- 
pated after  a  few  growls. 

McDonald's,  Dtc.  18, 1866. 
Not  knowing  the  name  of  the  nearest  town, 
I  date  this  from  McDonald's,  that  having  been 
our  last  stopping-place.  It  is  on  the  stage-route 
between  Columbia  River  and  Puget  Sound,  and 
a  place  worth  remembering.  I  wish  I  could 
give  an  idea  of  its  cheeriness,  especially  after 
travelling  a  fortnight  in  the  rain,  as  we  have 


iiiiP ' 


MCDONALD'S  IN  THE    WILDERNESS.        115 


done.  At  this  season  of  the  year,  every  thing 
is  deluged ;  and  the  roads,  full  of  deep  mud- 
holes  and  formidable  stumps,  are  now  at  their 
worst.  The  heavy  wagons  move  slowly  and 
laboriously  forward,  sometimes  getting  so  deep 
in  the  mire  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  ex- 
tricate them,  and  at  times  impeded  by  fallen 
trees,  which  the  driver  has  to  cut  away.  They 
are  poorly  protected  against  the  searching 
rains,  and  for  the  last  two  days  we  have  been 
drenched. 

When  we  caught  the  first  glimpse  of  the  red 
light  in  the  distance,  we  felt  very  much  inclined 
to  appreciate  any  thing  approaching  comfort, 
tired  and  dripping  as  we  were ;  but  w^hat  our 
happy  Fates  had  in  store  for  us,  we  never  for  a 
moment  imagined.  We  had  hardly  entered  the 
house  before  we  felt  that  it  was  no  common 
place.  The  fireplace  was  like  a  great  cavern, 
full  of  immense  logs  and  blazing  bark.  It 
lighted  up  a  most  hospitable  room.  From  a 
beam  in  the  low  ceiling,  hung  a  great  branch 
of  apples.  I  counted  twenty-three  bright  red 
and  yellow  apples  shining  out  from  it. 

Two  stages  meet  here,  and  the  main  business 
at  this  time  of  the  year  is  drying  the  passen- 
gers sufficiently  for  them  to  proceed  on  their 
way  the  next  day.     The  host  and  his  family 


mi 


^^^Ff^P 


■H^. 


y 


116 


MCDONALD'S  IN  THE   WILDERNESS. 


stood  round  the  fire,  handling  and  turning  the 
wet  garments  with  unbounded  good-nature  and 
patience.  The  stage-drivers  cracked  jokes  and 
told  stories.  A  spirit  of  perfect  equality  pre- 
vailed, and  a  readiness  to  take  every  thing  in 
the  best  possible  part.  The  family  are  Scotch, 
—  liard- working  people  ;  but  they  have  not 
worked  so  hard  as  to  rub  all  the  bloom  off  their 
lives,  as  so  many  people  have  that  we  liave 
seen. 

When  supper  was  announced,  another  sur- 
prise awaited  us.  Instead  of  the  unvarying 
round  of  fried  meat  and  clammy  pie  with  which 
we  had  hitherto  been  welcomed,  we  were  re- 
freshed with  a  dish  of  boiled  meat,  a  corn-starch 
pudding,  and  stewed  plums.  Why  some  otlier 
dweller  in  the  wilderness  could  not  have  intro- 
duced a  little  variety  into  his  bill  of  fare,  we 
could  never  conceive.  It  seemed  a  real  inspi- 
ration in  McDonald,  to  send  to  California  or 
Oregon  for  a  little  dried  fruit  and  some  papers 
of  corn-starch.  He  gave  us,  too,  what  was  even 
more  deliglitful  than  his  wholesome  food,  —  a 
little  glimpse  of  his  home-life.  To  a  tired  trav- 
eller, what  could  be  more  refreshing  than  a 
sight  of  somebody's  home?  Generally,  at  what- 
ever place  we  stopped,  we  saw  only  the  "  men- 
folks  ; "  the  family,  often  half-breed,  being  hud- 


If 


MCDONALD'S  IN   THE    WILDERNESS.         117 


died  away  in  the  rear.  Here,  in  the  room 
ill  which  the  guests  were  received,  lay  the  smil- 
ing baby  in  its  old-fashioiKd  cradle.  Two 
blithe  little  girls  danced  in  and  out,  and  the 
old  grandfather  sat  holding  a  white-haired  boy. 
When  dinner  was  over,  the  great  business  of 
drying  the  clothes  was  resrmed  by  the  trav- 
ellers and  the  family ;  and  we  held  our  wrap- 
pings by  the  fire,  and  turned  them  about,  until 
we  became  so  drowsy  that  we  lost  all  sense  of 
responsibility.  We  found,  the  next  morning, 
that  our  host  sat  up  and  finished  all  that  were 
left  undone.  He  had  become  so  accustomed  to 
this  kind  of  work,  that  he  did  not  seem  to  con- 
sider it  was  any  thing  extra,  or  that  it  entitled 
him  to  any  further  compensation  than  the 
usual  one  for  a  meal  and  a  night's  lodging. 
When  we  offered  something  more,  he  pointed 
to  a  little  box  nailed  up  beside  the  door,  over 
which  was  a  notice  that  any  one  who  wished 
might  contribute  something  for  a  school  which 
the  Sisters  were  attempting  to  open  for  the  chil- 
dren of  that  neighborhood.  Being  Scotch  peo- 
ple, I  could  hardly  believe  they  were  Catholics; 
but  found  upon  inquiry  that  tlieir  views  were  so 
liberal  as  to  enable  them  to  appreciate  the  ad- 
vantages of  education,  by  whomsoever  offered. 
I  was  quite  touched  by  McDonald's  little  con- 


t , 


'I  (Ml 


I 


118 


THE   WILD  COWLITZ. 


tribution  to  civilization,  in  the  midst  of  the  wil- 
derness. As  I  looked  back,  in  leaving,  at  the 
great  trees  and  the  exquisitely  curved  slope  of 
his  little  clearing,  I  felt  that  in  the  small  log 
house  was  something  worthy  of  the  fine  sur- 
roundings. 

Olympia,  Dec.  23, 18G6. 

When  we  reached  Cowlitz  Landing,  we  found 
the  river  quite  different  in  character  from  what 
we  had  known  it  before.  It  had  risen  many 
feet  above  its  ordinary  level,  and  was  still  ris- 
ing, and  had  become  a  wide,  fierce,  and  rushing 
stream,  bearing  on  its  surface  great  trees  and 
fragments  of  wrecked  buildings,  swiftly  sailing 
down  to  the  Columbia.  How  serenely  we 
descended  the  river  last  year,  floating  along  at 
sunset,  admiring  the  lovely  valley  and  the  hills, 
reaching  over  the  side  of  the  canoe,  and  soak- 
ing our  biscuits  in  the  glacier-water,  without 
once  thinking  of  the  vicissitudes  to  which  we 
were  liable  from  its  mountain  origin ! 

The  little  steamer  that  recently  had  begun  to 
compete  with  the  Indian  canoes  in  the  traffic  of 
the  river,  and  the  carrying  of  passengers,  did 
not  dare  to  attempt  to  ascend  it.  Navigation 
was  not  to  be  thought  of  by  ordinary  boats,  or 
by  white  men,  and  was  possible  only  by  canoes 
m  the  most  trusty  hands.    No  land-conveyance 


UP  THE  RIVER  DURING  A  FLOOD. 


119 


could  be  had  at  this  point.  We  were  told  that 
we  miglit  take  the  •stream,  by  those  familiar 
with  it,  if  we  could  find  good  Indians  willing  to 
go  with  us.  One  called  "  Shorty  "  was  brought 
forward  to  negotiate  with  us.  lie  lias  the  same 
dwarfed  appearance  I  have  noticed  in  the  old 
women,  and  that  strange,  Egyptian-looking  face 
and  air.  It  would  be  impossible  for  any  one  to 
tell,  by  his  appearance,  whether  he  personally 
were  old  or  young ;  but  the  ancientness  of  the 
type  is  deeply  impressed  upon  him.  If  half- 
civilized  Indians  had  been  offered,  or  those  that 
had  had  much  intercourse  with  the  whites,  I 
should  have  hesitated  more  to  trust  them ;  but 
he  was  such  a  pure  Indian,  it  seemed  as  if  he 
were  as  safe  as  any  wild  creature.  Whether  he 
would  extend  any  help,  in  emergencies,  to  his 
clumsy  civilized  passengers,  was  a  more  doubt- 
ful question.  However,  as  the  alternative  was 
to  wait  indefinitely,  and  the  character  of  the 
stopping-places,  as  a  rule,  drives  one  to  desper- 
ate measures,  we  confided  ourselves  to  his  hands, 
and  embarked  with  him  and  his  assistant,  a  fine 
athletic  young  Indian. 

We  fixed  our  eyes  intently  upon  him,  as  if 
studying  our  fates.  He  was  perfectly  imper- 
turbable, and  steered  only,  the  other  poling  the 
canoe  along  the  edge  of  the  stream,  and  grasp- 


I    !l!Jiii|ijP*l^i( 


120 


INDIAN  BOATMEN. 


U 


ing  the  overhanging  trees  to  pull  it  along,  using 
the  paddle  only  wlien  these  means  were  not 
avaihible.  His  work  required  unceasing  vigil- 
ance and  activity,  and  was  so  hard  that  it  would 
have  exliausted  any  ordinary  man  in  a  few 
liours ;  but  he  kept  on  from  early  morning  till 
dark.  Always  in  the  most  difficult  places,  or  if 
liis  energy  seemed  to  flag  in  the  least,  Shorty 
would  call  out  to  him,  in  the  most  animated 
manner,  mentioning  a  canoe,  a  hammock,  and  a 
hyas  closhe  (very  nice)  klootchman  ;  at  which  the 
young  man  would  laugh  with  delight,  and  start 
anew.  T  considered  it  was  probably  his  stock 
in  life,  the  prospect  of  an  establishment,  which 
was  presented  to  rouse  and  cheer  liim  on. 
Shorty  had  been  recommended  to  us  as  one  of 
the  best  hands  on  the  river.  I  began  to  see 
that  it  was  for  his  power  of  inspiring  others,  as 
well  as  for  his  extreme  vigilance  in  keei)ing  out 
of  the  eddies,  and  avoiding  the  drift  in  crossing 
the  river,  to  be  caught  in  which  would  have 
been  destruction.  We  crossed  several  times, 
to  secure  advantages  wliich  his  quick  eye  per- 
ceived. I  noticed  tluvt.  whenever  he  pointed 
out  any  particular  branch  on  the  shore  to  be 
seized,  how  certain  the  other  was  to  strike  it  at 
once.  With  wdiite  men,  how  much  blundering 
and  missing  there  would  have  been ! 


INDIAN  BOATMEN. 


121 


I  never  felt  before,  so  strongly,  how  many- 
vices  attend  civilization,  wliicli  it  seems  as  if 
men  might  just  as  well  be  free  from,  as  when  I 
compared  these  Indians  with  the  common  white 
people  about  us,  —  the  stage-drivers,  mill-men, 
and  others,  —  with  no  smoking  nor  drinking 
nor  tobacco-chewing,  and  so  strong  and  grace- 
ful, and  sure  in  their  aim,  that  no  gymnast  I 
liave  ever  seen  could  compare  with  them.  The 
ingenious  ways  in  which  they  helped  themselves 
along  in  places  where  any  boat  of  ours  would 
have  been  immediately  overturned,  converting 
obstacles  often  into  helps,  were  fascinating  to 
study.  As  night  came  on,  1  began  to  wish  that 
their  consciences  were  a  little  more  developed, 
or,  rather,  that  they  had  a  little  more  sense  of 
responsibility  witli  regard  to  us.  The  safety  of 
their  passengers  is  no  burden  whatever  on  the 
minds  of  the  Indians.  Their  spirits  seem  to  rise 
with  danger.  They  know  that  they  could  very 
well  save  themselves  in  an  emergency,  and  I 
believe  they  prefer  that  white  people  should  be 
drowned.  I  could  only  look  into  the  imper- 
turbable faces  of  our  boatmen,  and  wonder 
where  we  were  to  spend  the  night.  Finally, 
with  a  terrible  whirl,  which  I  felt  at  the  time 
must  be  our  last,  they  entered  a  white  foaming 
slough  (a  branch  of  the  river),  and  drew  up  on 


-mF 


122 


INDIAN  BOATMEN. 


I 


m 


m 


the  bank.  They  anuounced  to  us  then  that  we 
were  to  walk  a  mile  through  the  woods,  to  a 
house.  I  think  no  white  man,  even  the  most 
surly  of  our  drivers,  would  have  asked  us  to  do 
that,  —  in  perfect  blackness,  the  trees  wet  and 
dripping,  —  but  would  have  managed  to  bring 
us  to  some  inhabited  place.  They  staited  off  at 
a  rapid  gait,  and  we  followed.  We  could  not 
see  their  forms ;  but  one  carried  something 
white  in  his  hand,  which  we  faintly  discerned 
in  the  darkness,  which  served  as  our  guide. 
They  sang  and  shouted,  and  sounded  their 
horn,  all  the  way.  I  supposed  it  was  to  keep 
off  bad  spirits,  but  tho  next  day  we  heard  that 
in  those  woods  beprs  and  panthers  were  some- 
times found.  At  length  a  light  appeared.  We 
felt  cheered;  but  when  we  approached  it,  two 
furious  dogs  rushed  out  at  us.  They  were  im- 
mediately followed  by  their  master,  who  took 
us  in.  After  consultation  with  him,  we  con- 
cluded to  abandon  our  Indians,  as  he  said  he 
could  take  us,  on  the  following  day,  through 
the  woods  to  the  next  stopping-place,  with  his 
ox-team.  The  quiet  comfort  of  being  trans- 
ported by  oxen  was  something  not  to  be  re- 
sisted, after  having  our  nerves  so  racked.  We 
felt  an  immense  satisfaction  in  coming  ag?in 
upon  our  own  kind,  even  if  it  were  only  in  an 


UlS- 

re- 


loui 


BIRCII-BARK  AND  CEDAR  CANOEH. 


old  log  cabin,  where  the   children  were    I aken 
out  of  their  bed  to  put  us  in. 

We  have  seen  no  bark  canoes  here ;  they  are 
all  of  cedar.  No  doubt  there  is  good  canoe- 
birch  on  the  river-banks,  but  something  more 
durable  is  needed.  The  North-west  Fur  Com- 
pany, in  early  days,  sent  out  a  cargo  of  birch 
from  Montreal  to  London,  to  be  shipped  from 
there  round  Cape  Horn  to  the  north-west  coast 
of  America,  to  be  made  into  canoes  for  their 
men  to  navigate  the  Columbia  and  its  branches ; 
in  direst  ignorance  of  the  requirements  of  the 
country,  as  well  as  of  its  productions. 


an 


mit 


VIII. 

Voyage  to  San  Francisco.  —  Fog-bound.  —  Port  Angeles.— 
Passing  Cape  Flattery  in  a  Storm.  — Off  Shore. —The 
"Brontes." -The  Captain  and  his  Men. — A  Fair  Wind. 
—  San  Francisco  Bar. —The  City  at  Night. — Voyage  to 
Astoria.  —  Crescent  City.  —  Iron-bound  Coast.  —  !Mount 
St.  Helen's. — Mount  Hood.  —  Cowlitz  Valley  and  its 
Floods. —MonticeJi.o. 

San  Francisco,  Feb.  20, 1867. 

"\T7"E  are  here  at  last,  contrary  to  all  our 
'  »  expectations  for  the  last  ten  days.  We 
left  Puget  Sound  at  short  notice,  taking  passage 
on  the  first  lumber-vessel  that  was  available,  with 
many  misgivhigs,  as  she  was  a  dilapida  ^d-look- 
ing  craft.  We  went  on  board  at  Port  Madison, 
about  dusk,  —  a  dreary  time  to  start  on  a  sea- 
voyage,  but  we  had  to  accommodate  ourselves 
to  the  tide.  Tlie  cabin  was  such  a  forlorn-look- 
ing place,  that  I  was  half  tempted  to  give  it  up 
at  the  last ;  when  I  saw,  sitting  beside  tlie  rusty, 
stove,  a  smii 


ipty 


gray 


pui 


ing,  and  rubbing  her  paws  in  the  most  cheery 
manner.     The  contrast  between  the  great,  cold, 

124 


FOG-BOUND. 


125 


tossing  ocean,  and  that  little  comfortable  crea- 
ture, making  the  best  of  her  circumstances,  so 
impressed  me,  that  I  felt  ashamed  to  shrink 
from  the  voyage,  if  she  was  willing  to  under- 
take it.  So  I  unpacked  my  bundles,  and  settled 
down  for  a  rough  time.  There  were  only  two 
oi  us  as  passengers,  lumber  vessels  not  making 
it  a  part  of  their  business  co  provide  specially 
for  their  accommodation. 

The  sky  looked  threatening  when  we  started ; 
and  the  captain  said,  if  he  thought  there  was  a 
storm  beginning,  he  would  not  try  to  go  on. 
But  as  we  got  out  into  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  the 
next  day,  a  little  barque,  the  "  Crimea,"  came 
up,  and  said  she  had  been  a  week  trying  to  get 
out  of  the  straits,  and  thought  the  steady  south- 
west wind,  which  had  prevented  her,  could  not 
blow  much  longer.  We  continued  beating 
down  towards  the  ocean,  and  in  the  afternoon 
fv  dense  fog  shut  us  in.  The  last  thing  we  saw 
yas  an  ocean-steamer,  putting  back  to  Victoria 
f'^r  shelter.  Our  captain  said  his  vessel  drew 
too  much  water  for  Victoria  Harbor,  and  the 
entrance  was  too  crooked  to  attempt;  but,  if  he 
could  find  Port  Angeles,  he  would  put  in  there. 
A  gleam  of  sunshine  shot  through  the  fog,  and 
showed  us  the  entrance ;  and  we  steered  tri- 
umphantly for  that  refuge.     Two  other  vessels 


mWW 


12G     PASSING   CAPE  FLATTERY  TN  A  STORM. 

had  anchored  there.  But  just  as  we  were  about 
rounding  the  point  to  enter,  and  were  congratu- 
hiting  ourselves  on  the  quiet  night  we  hoped  to 
spend  under  the  shelter  of  the  mountains,  the 
captain  spied  a  sail  going  on  towards  tlie  ocean. 
He  put  his  vessel  right  about,  determined  to 
face  whatever  risks  an}^  other  man  would.  But 
the  vessel  seemed  unwilling  to  go.  All  that 
night,  a  • '  ■''  "5  next  day,  and  the  next  nigrit,  we 
rode  to  ari>.  co  in  the  straits,  unable  to  get  out. 
Passing  Cape  Flattery  is  the  great  event  of 
the  voyage.  It  is  always  rough  there,  from  the 
peculiar  conformation  of  the  land,  and  the  con- 
flict of  the  waters  from  the  Gulf  of  Georgia, 
and  other  inlets,  with  the  ocean-tides.  Our 
captain  had  been  sailing  on  this  route  for  fifteen 
vears,  but  said  he  had  never  seen  a  worse  sea 
than  we  encountered.  We  asked  him  if  he 
did  not  consider  the  Pacific  a  more  uncertain 
ocean  than  the  Atlantic.  At  first  he  said 
"  Yes ;  "  then,  "  No,  it  is  pretty  certain  to  be 
bad  here  at  all  times."  What  could  Magellan's 
idea  have  been  in  so  naming  it  ?  He,  however, 
sailed  in  more  southern  latitudes,  where  it  may 
be  stiller.  We  expected  to  sail  on  the  water; 
but  our  vessel  drove  through  it,  just  as  I  have 
secj  the  snow-plough  drive  through  the  great 
drifts  after  a  storm.     Going  to  sea  on  a  steamer 


,^f        'lU;  ii' 


IM 


PASS  TNG  CAPE  FLATTER^. 


127 


gives  one  no  idea  of  the  winds  and  waves, — the 
real  life  of  the  ocean,  —  compared  to  what  we 
get  on  a  sailing-vessel.  Every  time  we  tried  to 
round  the  point,  great  walls  of  waves  advanced 
against  us, — so  powerful  and  defiant-looking, 
that  I  could  only  shut  my  eyes  when  they  drew 
near.  It  did  not  seem  as  if  I  made  a  prayer, 
but  as  if  I  were  myself  a  prayer,  only  a  winged 
cry.  I  knew  then  what  it  must  be  to  die.  I 
felt  that  I  fled  from  the  angry  sea,  and  reached, 
in  an  instant,  serene  heights  above  the  storm. 

Finally,  as  the  result  of  all  these  desperate 
efforts,  "in  which  we  recognized  no  gain,  the 
captain  announced  that  we  had  made  the  point, 
but  we  couM  get  no  farther  until  the  wind 
changed ;  and,  while  we  still  felt  the  fury  of 
the  contrary  sea,  it  was  hard  to  recognize  that 
we  had  much  to  be  grateful  for.  We  saw  one 
beautiful  sight,  though,  — a  vessel  going  home, 
helped  by  the  wind  that  hindered  us.  It  was 
at  night ;  and  the  light  struck  up  on  her  dark 
sails,  and  made  them  look  like  wings,  as  she 
ilew  over  the  water.  What  bliss  it  seemed,  to 
be  nearing  home,  and  all  things  in  her  favor ! 

I  could  hear  all  about  us  a  heavy  sound  like 
surf  on  the  shore,  which  was  quite  incompre- 
hensible, as  we  were  so  far  from  land.  But  the 
water  drove   us  from  the  deck.      The  vessel 


If 


i 


128 


OFF  SHORE. 


plunged  head  foremost,  and  reeled  from  side  to 
side,  with  terrible  groaning  and  straining.  If 
we  attempted  to  move,  we  were  violently  thrown 
in  one  direction  or  another  ;  and  finally  found 
that  all  we  could  do  was  to  lie  still  on  tlie 
cabin-floor,  holding  fast  to  any  thing  stationary 
that  we  could  reach.  We  could  hear  the  water 
sweeping  over  the  deck  above  us,  and  several 
times  it  poured  down  in  great  sheets  upon  us. 
We  ventured  to  ask  the  captain  what  he  was 
attempting  to  do.  "  Get  out  to  sea,"  he  said, 
"  out  of  the  reach  of  storms."  That  is  brave 
sailing,  I  thought,  though  I  would  not  have 
gone  if  I  could  have  helped  it.  We  struggled 
on  in  this  way  for  a  day  and  a  night,  and  then 
he  said  we  were  beyond  the  region  of  storms 
from  land.  I  am  afraid  I  should,  if  left  to  my- 
self, linger  always  with  the  faint-hearted  mari- 
ners who  hug  the  shore,  notwithstanding  this 
great  experience  of  finding  our  safoty  by  steer- 
ing boldly  off  from  every  thing  wherein  we  had 
before  considered  our  only  security  lay.  After 
this,  I  performed  every  day  the  great  exploit  of 
climbing  to  the  deck,  and  looking  out  at  the 
waste  of  water.  I  saw  only  one  poor  old  vessel, 
pitching  and  reeling  like  a  drunken  man.  I 
wondered  if  we  could  look  so  to  her.  She  was 
always  half-seas-over.    I  came  to  the  conclusion 


THE  CAPTAIN  AND  UIS  MEN, 


129 


:eer- 


I 

was 
sion 


it  was  best  not  to  watch  her,  but  it  was  hard 
to  keep  my  eyes  off  of  her.  She  was  our  com- 
panion all  the  way  down,  always  re-appearing 
after  every  gale  we  weathered,  though  often 
far  behind.  I  remember,  just  as  we  were  fairly 
under  way,  hearing  a  man  sing  out,  "  There's 
the  old  '  Brontes '  coming  out  of  the  straits." 
My  associations  with  the  name  were  gloomy 
in  the  extreme. 

When  the  wind  and  sea  were  at  their  worst, 
considering  the  extremity,  we  felt  called  upon 
to  offer  some  advice  to  the  captain,  and  sug- 
gested that,  under  such  circumstances,  it  might 
be  advisable  to  travel  under  bare  poles ;  but 
that,  he  assured  us,  was  only  resorted  to  when 
a  man's  voice  could  not  possibly  be  heard  in 
giving  orders. 

The  captain  was  quite  a  study  to  us.  On 
shore  he  presented  the  most  ordinary  appear- 
ance. When  we  had  been  out  two  or  three 
days,  I  noticed  some  one  I  had  not  seen  before 
on  deck,  and  thought  to  myself,  "  That  is  an 
apparition  for  a  time  of  danger,  —  a  man  as  res- 
olute as  the  sea  itself,  so  stern  and  gra^'-look- 
ing. "  I  was  quite  bewildered,  for  I  thought  I 
must  certainly  before  that  have  seen  every  one 
on  board.  It  proved  to  be  the  captain  in  his 
storm-clothes.     One  of  the  sailors  was  a  lius- 


m 


I 


^^^^pp^ 


M- 


130 


TIIIu    CAPTAIN  AND  HIS  MEN. 


•3!  r  79  a 


sian  serf,  running  away,  as  he  said,  from  the  Czar 
of  Russia,  not  wholly  believing  in  the  safety  of 
the  serfs.  He  had  shipped  as  a  competent  sea- 
man ;  but  when  he  was  sent  up  to  the  top  of 
the  mizzen-mast,  to  fix  the  halliards  for  a  sig- 
nal, he  stopped  in  the  most  perilous  place,  and 
announced  tliat  he  could  not  go  any  farther. 
It  seems  that  every  man  on  board  was  a  stran- 
ger to  the  captain.  It  filled  us  with  anxiety  to 
think  how  much  depended  on  that  one  man. 
One  night  there  was  an  alarm  of  "  A  man  over- 
board !  "  If  it  had  been  the  captain,  how  aim- 
lessly we  should  have  drifted  on !  I  liked  to 
listen,  when  we  were  below,  to  hear  the  men 
hoisting  the  sails,  and  shouting  together.  It 
sounded  as  if  they  were  managing  horses,  now 
restraining  them,  and  now  cheering  them  on. 
When  the  captain  put  his  hand  on  the  helm, 
we  could  always  tell  below.  There  was  as 
much  difference  as  in  driving.  In  the  midst  of 
the  wildest  plunging,  he  would  suddenly  quiet 
it  by  putting  the  vessel  in  some  other  position, 
just  as  he  would  have  held  in  a  rearing  horse. 

Two  or  three  times,  when  there  was  a  little 
lull,  I  went  on  deck ;  and  the  air  was  as  balmy 
.as  from  a  garden.  What  can  it  mean,  this  fra- 
grance of  fresh  flowers  in  the  midst  of  thr  sea? 

Some  virtues,  I   think,  are  admirably  culti- 


SAN  FRANCISCO  BAR. 


\3l 


vatcd  at  sea.  Niglit  after  niglit,  as  we  laj-  tliero, 
I  said  to  the  captain,  '•'  What  is  the  meaning  of 
those  clouds?  "  or  "  that  dull  red  sky?  "  And 
he  answered  so  composedly,  "  It's  going  to  be 
squally,"  that  I  admired  his  patience  ;  but  it 
wore  upon  us  very  much. 

At  length,  one  night,  as  I  lay  looking  up 
through  our  little  skylight,  at  the  flapping  of 
the  great  white  spanker-sheet,  —  my  special 
enemy  and  dread,  because  the  captain  would 
keep  it  up  when  I  thought  it  unsafe,  it  seemed 
such  a  lawless  thing,  and  so  ready  to  overturn 
us  every  time  it  shifted,  —  a  great  cheerful  star 
looked  in.  It  meant  that  all  trouble  was  over. 
One  after  another  followed  it.  I  could  not 
speak,  I  was  so  glad.  I  could  only  look  at 
them,  and  feel  that  our  safety  was  assured. 
The  wind  had  changed.  I  appreciated  the 
delight  of  Ulysses  in  "  the  fresh  North  Spirit " 
Calypso  gave  him  "  to  guide  him  o'er  the  sea,'* 
—  the  rest  of  our  voyage  was  so  exhilarating. 

We  had  one  more  special  risk  only,  —  cross- 
ing the  bar  of  San  Francisco  Bay.  The  cap- 
tain said,  if  he  reached  it  at  night,  he  expected 
to  wait  until  daylight  to  enter ;  but  I  knew 
that  his  ambitious  spirit  would  never  let  hiin, 
if  it  were  possible  to  get  over.  About  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  heard  a  new  sound 


I' 


M 

iHiiniiiiiwI 

i  ii 

1 

1 

, .  i . 
i  ■  :  i 

i 


\m. 


132 


THE  CITY  AT  NIGHT. 


in  the  water,  like  the  rippling  of  billows,  as 
if  it  were  sluiUovv.  I  hastened  upon  deek,  and 
found  that  we  were  apparently  on  the  bar.  The 
captain  and  the  mate  differed  about  the  sound- 
ing. Innnediately  after,  I  heard  the  captain 
tell  a  man  to  run  down  and  see  what  time  it 
was-,  and,  upon  learning  the  hour,  heard  him 
exclaim,  in  the  deepest  satisfaction,  "Flood- 
tide,  sure !  Well,  we  had  a  chance !  "  I  felt  as 
if  we  had  had  a  series  of  chances  from  the  time 
we  left  Port  Angeles  Harbor,  to  the  running 
in  without  a  pilot,  and  drifting,  as  we  did,  into 
the  revenue-cutter,  just  as  we  anchored.  We 
had  a  beautiful  entrance,  though.  It  is  a  long 
passage,  an  hour  or  two  after  crossing  the  bar. 
San  Francisco  lay  in  misty  light  before  us, 
like  one  of  the  great  bright  nebulie  we  used 
to  look  at  in  Hercules,  or  the  sword-handle  of 
Perseus.  It  is  splendidly  lighted.  As  we  drew 
nearer,  there  seemed  to  be  troops  of  stars  over 

all  the  hills. 

Astoria,  Ore.,  Oct.  17, 1868. 

In  making  the  voyage  from  San  Francisco,  I 
could  hardly  go  on  deck  at  all,  until  the  last 
day;  but,  lying  and  looking  out  at  my  little 
port-hole,  I  saw  the  flying-fish,  and  the  whales 
spouting,  and  the  stormy-petrels  and  gulls. 

On  Sunday  the  boat  was  turned  about;  and 


CRESCA'NT   CITY. 


133 


US, 

sed 

,e  of 

rew 

ver 


and 


wliori  we  in([uii'e(l  why,  we  were  told  tliat  the 
wind  luid  sea  were  so  iiiiich  agiunst  us,  we  were 
going  to  put  back  into  Crescent  City.  It  came 
at  once  into  our  minds,  how  on  Sunday,  three 
years  before,  the  steamer  "  Brotlier  Jonathan," 
in  attempting  to  do  tlie  same  thing,  struck  a 
rock,  and  foundered,  and  nearly  all  on  board 
were  lost. 

Crescent  City  is  an  isolated  little  settlement, 
a  depot  for  sup[)lies  for  miners  working  on  the 
rivers  in  Northern  California.  It  has  properly 
no  harbor,  but  only  a  roadstead,  filled  with  the 
wildest-looking  black  rocks,  of  strange  forms, 
standing  far  out  from  the  shore,  and  affords  a 
very  imperfect  shelter  for  vessels  if  they  are  so 
fortunate  as  to  get  safely  in.  The  Coast  Sur- 
vey Report  mentions  it  as  "the  most  dangerous 
of  the  roadsteads  usually  resorted  to,  filled  with 
sunken  rocks  and  reefs."  It  further  says,  that 
"  no  vessel  should  think  of  gaining  an  anchor- 
age there,  without  a  pilot,  or  perfect  knowledge 
of  the  hidden  dangers.  The  rocks  are  of  pecul- 
iar character,  standing  isolated  like  bayonets, 
with  their  points  just  below  the  surf >;•»,,  ready 
to  pierce  any  unlucky  craft  that  may  encounter 
them."  The  "Dragon  Rocks"  lie  in  the  near 
vicinity,  at  the  end  of  a  long  reef  that  makes 
out  from  Crescent  City.     All  the  steamers  that 


1 


134 


MOUNT  ST.    HELEN'S. 


I 


I 


enter    or   depart  from   there   must  pass  near 
them. 

It  is  very  remarkable,  tliat,  while  the  Atlan- 
tic coast  abounds  in  excellent  harbors,  on  the 
Pacific  side  of  the  continent  there  is  no  good 
harbor  where  a  vessel  can  find  reluge  in  any 
kind  of  weather  between  San  Francisco  Bay 
and  San  Diego  to  the  south,  and  Port  Angeles, 
on  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  to  the  north.  It  is  fitly 
characterized  by  Wilkes  as  an  "iron-bound 
coast." 

We  reached  here  Saturday  night.  Sunday 
morning,  hearing  a  silver  triangle  played  in  the 
streets,  we  looked  out  for  tambourines  r  d 
dancing-girls,  but  saw  none,  and  were  prese 
told  it  was  the  call  to  church.  We  were  quite 
tempted  to  go  and  hear  what  the  service  would 
be,  but  the  sound  of  the  breakers  on  the  bar 
enchained  us  to  stop  and  listen  to  them. 

Portland,  Ore.,  Oct.  20, 1808. 

In  coming  up  the  river  from  Astoria,  we  had 
always  in  view  the  snow-white  cone  of  St. 
Helen's,  one  of  the  principal  peaks  of  the  Cas- 
cade Range.  Nothing  can  be  conceived  more 
virginal  than  this  form  of  exquisite  purity  ris- 
ing from  the  dark  fir  forests  to  the  serene  sky. 
Mount  Baker's  symmetry  is  much  marred  by 


1 

if 

1 

1. 

it 

i* 

Iff 

H  " 

ilr 

1 1^' 

lad 

St. 

'as- 

lore 

ris- 

by 


COWLITZ    VALLEY  AND  ITS  FLOODS.       135 

the  sunken  crater  at  the  summit ;  Mount  Rai- 
nier's  outline  is  more  complicated:  this  is  a 
pure,  beautiful  cone.  It  is  so  perfect  a  picture 
of  heavenly  calm,  that  it  is  as  hard  to  realize  its 
being  volcanic  as  it  would  be  to  imagine  an  out- 
burst of  passion  in  a  seraph.  Frdmont  reports 
having  seen  columns  of  smoke  ascending  from 
it,  and  showers  of  ashes  are  known  to  have 
fallen  over  the  Dalles. 

As  we  ppproached  Portland,  the  sharp-pointed 
form  of  Mount  Hood  came  prominently  into 
view.  Portland  would  be  only  a  commonplace 
city,  the  Willamette  Ttiver  being  quite  tame 
here,  and  the  shores  low  and  unattractive ;  but 
this  grand  old  mountain,  and  the  remnant  of 
forest  about  it,  give  it  an  ancient,  stately,  and 
dignified  look. 

Olympia,  Oct.  30, 18G8. 

In  crossing  from  the  Columbia  River  to  the 
Sound,  we  saw,  along  the  Cowlitz  Valley,  marks 
of  the  havoc  and  devastation  caused  by  the 
floods  of  last  winter.  The  wild  mountain  stream 
had  swept  away  many  familiar  landmarks  since 
we  were  last  there ;  in  fact,  had  abandoned  its 
bed,  and  taken  a  new  channel.  It  gave  us  a 
realizing  sense  of  the  fact  that  great  changes 
are  still  in  process  on  our  globe.  Where  we 
had  quietly  slumbered,  is  now  the  bed  of  the 


V' 


iiit:;^:;  1..^^^  :y-;i  t,:: 


I 


136 


MONTICELLO. 


stream.  We  mourned  over  the  little  place  at 
Monticello,  where  for  eight  years  a  nice  garden, 
with  rows  of  trim  currant-bushes,  had  gladdened 
the  eyes  of  travellers,  and  the  neat  inn,  kept  by 
a  cheery  old  Methodist  minister,  had  given 
them  hospitable  welcome,  —  not  a  vestige  of 
the  place  now  remaining.  Civilization  is  so 
little  advanced  in  that  region,  that  few  men 
would  have  the  heart  or  the  means  to  set  out  a 
garden. 


\\<  Uk 


IX. 


Victoria.  —  Its  Mountain  Views,  Rocks,  and  Flowers.  — Van- 
couver's Admiration  of  tiie  Island.  —  San  Juan  Islands.  — 
Sir  James  Donj^las.  —  Indian  Wives.  —  Northern  Indians. 
—  InU  an  Workiuanslii').  —  The  Thunder-hird.  —  Indian 
Offerings  to  the  Spirit  of  a  Child.  — Pioneers.  —  Crows  and 
Sea-birds. 

Victoria,  B.C.,  Nov.  15, 18G8. 

WE  are  to  btay  for  several  months  in  this 
place.  We  are  delightfully  situated. 
The  house  has  quite  a  Christmas  look,  from  the 
holly  and  other  bright  berries  that  cluster  rou!^d 
the  windows.  The  hall  is  picturesquely  orna- 
mented with  deer's  horns  and  weapons  and 
Inuian  curiositiss.  But  the  view  is  what  we 
care  most  about.  On  our  horizon  we  have  the 
exqui -ite  peaks  of  silver,  the  summits  of  tlie 
Olympic  Range,  at  the  foot  of  which  we  lived 
in  Port  Angeles.  We  look  "^ cross  the  blue 
straits  to  tliein.  Immediately  In  front  is  an  oak 
grove,  and  on  the  other  side  a  great  extent  of 
dark,  Indian-looking  woods.  There  are  nearer 
mountains,  where  we  can  see  all  the  beautifiil 

changes  of  light  and  shade.     Yesterday  they 

137 


'■m 


r^Tf 


138 


VICTORIA. 


were  wrapped  in  haze,  as  in  the  Indian  summer, 
and  every  thing  was  soft  and  dreamy  about 
Ihem;  to-day  they  stand  out  bold  and  clear, 
with  great  wastes  of  snow,  ravines,  and  land- 
slides, and  dark  prominences,  all  distinctly  de- 
fined. When  the  setting  sun  lights  up  the 
summits,  new  fields  of  crystal  and  gold,  and 
other  more  distant  mountains,  appear. 

It  is  very  refreshing  to  get  here,  the  island 
has  such  a  rich  green  look  after  California.  It 
is  quite  rocky  about  us ;  but  the  rocks  even  are 
carpeted  deep  with  moss,  and  the  old  gnarled 
branches  of  the  oaks  have  a  coating  of  thick, 
bright  velvet.  It  is  now  the  middle  of  Novem- 
ber ;  and  the  young  grass  is  springing  up  after 
the  rain,  and  even  where  it  does  not  grow 
there  is  no  bare  earth,  but  brown  oak-leaves 
and  brakes,  with  soft  warm  colors,  particularly 
when  the  sun  strikes  across  them.  The  skies, 
too,  are  like  those  at  home,  with  the  magnificent 
sunrise  and  sunset  that  only  clouds  can  give. 
The  California  sky  is,  much  of  the  time,  pure 
unchanging  blue. 

When  we  first  landed  here,  we  were  very 
much  impressed  by  the  appearance  of  the  co:  st, 
it  being  bold  and  rocky,  like  that  of  New  Eng- 
land ;  while  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  straits, 
and    almost    everywhere   on    tie  Sound,   are 


VANCOUVER'S  ADMIRATION  OF  THE  ISLAND.  139 

smooth,  sandy  shores,  or  high  bluffs  covered 
with  trees.  The  trees,  too,  at  once  attracted 
our  attention,  —  large,  handsome  oaks,  instead 
of  the  rough  firs,  and  a  totally  different  under- 
growth, with  many  flowers  wholly  unknown  on 
the  opposite  side,  whicli  charmed  us  with  their 
brilliancy  and  variety  of  color;  among  them 
the  delicate  cyclamen,  and  others  that  we  had 
known  only  in  greenhouses.  They  continually 
recalled  v.o  us  the  surprise  of  some  of  the  early 
explorers  at  seeing  an  uncultivated  country 
look  so  much  like  a  garden.  We  were  told 
that  much  less  rain  falls  here  than  on  the 
American  side ;  the  winds  depositing  their  moist- 
ure as  snow  on  the  mountains  before  they 
reach  Victoria,  which  gives  it  a  dryer  winter 
climate. 

Vancouver,  in  his  narrative,  repeatedly  speaks 
of  the  serenity  of  the  weather  h^ie,  and  suvs 
that  the  scenery  recalled  to  him  delightful  places 
in  England.  He  felt  as  if  the  smooth,  lawn- 
like slopes  of  the  island  must  have  been  chared 
by  man.  Every  thing  unsightly  seemed  to  have 
been  removed,  and  only  what  was  most  grace fii' 
and  picturesque  allowed  to  remain.  He  ..;  , 
"1  could  not  possibly  believe  tliat  any  unculti- 
vated country  had  ever  been  discovered  exhibit- 
ing so  rich  a  picture."     When  requested  by  the 


m 


■,|!    m 


m 


140 


SAN  JUAN  ISLANDS. 


Spanish  Seignor  Quadra  to  select  some  harbor 
or  island  to  which  to  give  their  joint  names,  in 
memory  of  their  friendship,  and  the  successful 
accomplishment  of  their  business  (they  having 
been  commissioned  respectively  by  their  gov- 
erinnents  to  tender  and  receive  tlie  possessions 
of  Nootka,  given  back  by  Spain  to  Great  Brit- 
ain), he  selected  this  island  as  the  fairest  and 
most  attractive  that  he  had  seen,  and  called  it 
the  "Island  of  Quadra  and  Vancouver."  The 
*' Quadra,''  as  was  usual  with  the  Spanish  names, 
was  soon  after  dropped. 

Between  Vancouver's  Island  and  Washing- 
ton Territor}^  lie  the  long-disputed  islands  of 
the  San  Juan  group;  the  British  claiming  that 
Rosario  Strait  is  tlie  channel  indicated  in  the 
Treaty  of  1846,  which  would  give  them  tlie 
islands ;  while  the  United  States  claim  that  l)e 
Haro  Strait  is  tlie  true  channel,  and  that  the 
islands  belong  to  them. 

These  islands  are  valuable  for  their  pastur- 
age and  their  harbors,  and  most  of  all  for  their 
situation  in  a  military  point  of  view.  Wliile 
this  question  is  still  in  dispute,  the  British  fort 
at  one  end  of  San  Juan,  and  the  American  fort 
at  tlie  other,  observe  towards  each  other  a  re- 
spectful silence. 


SIR  JAMES  DOUGLAS. 


141 


Dec.  1, 1868. 
Sir  James  Douglas,  the  first  governor  of 
British  Columbia,  selected  the  site  of  Victoria. 
Owing  to  liis  good  taste,  tlie  natural  beauty  of 
the  place  has  been  largely  pre^^^erved.  The  oak 
groves  and  delicate  undergrowth  are  a  great 
contrast  to  the  rude  -mill-sites  of  the  Sound, 
whe  re  every  thing  is  sacrificed  to  sending  off  so 
much  lumber.  He  lives  at  Victoria  in  a  simple, 
unpretending  way.  It  was  made  a  law  in  Brit- 
ish Columbia,  that  no  white  man  should  live 
with  an  Indian  woman  as  wife,  without  mar- 
rying her.  He  set  the  example  himself,  by 
marrying  one  of  the  half-breed  Indian  women. 
Some  of  the  chief  officers  of  the  Hudson  Bav 
Company  did  the  same.  The  aristocracy  of  Vic- 
toria has  a  large  admixture  of  Indian  blood. 
The  company  encouraged  their  employ<:3S,  mostly 
French  Canadians,  to  take  Indian  wives  also. 
They  were  absolute  in  prohibiting  the  sale  of 
intoxicating  drinks  to  the  Indians,  and  dis- 
missed from  their  employ  any  one  who  violated 
this  rule.  They  gave  th^  Indians  better  goods 
than  they  got  from  the  United-States  agents ; 
so  that  they  even  now  distinguish  between  a 
King  George  (English)  blanket,  and  a  Boston 
(American)  blanket,  as  between  a  good  one 
and  a  bad  one. 


ill:'  ! 


^    f 


M 


142 


NORTHERN  INDIANS. 


It  was,  no  doubt,  owing  to  the  influence  of 
Sir  James  Douglas,  that  Lady  Burdett  Coutts 
sent  out  and  established  a  high  school  here  for 
boys  and  girls. 

Dec.  5, 18G8. 

We  saw  here  some  of  the  Northern  Indians 
of  the  Haidah  tribe,  from  Queen  Charlotte's 
Islands.  They  came  in  large  canoes,  some  of 
which  would  hold  a  hundred  men,  and  yet 
each  was  hollowed  out  of  a  single  log  of  cedar. 
They  came  down  to  bring  a  cargo  of  dogfish- 
oil  to  the  light-house  at  Cape  Flattery.  They 
camped  for  two  weeks  on  the  beach,  and  we 
went  often  to  see  them.  Having  led  such  an 
isolated  life  on  their  islands,  surrounded  by 
rough  water,  and  hardly  known  to  white  men, 
they  have  preserved  many  peculiarities  of  their 
tribe,  and  are  quite  different  in  their  looks  and 
habits  from  the  Indians  of  Puget  Sound.  Some 
of  the  old  women  had  a  little  piece  of  bone  or 
pearl  shell  stuck  through  the  lower  lip,  which 
gave  them  a  very  barbarous  appearance ;  but 
m  many  ways  the  men  had  more  knowledge  of 
arts  and  manufactures  than  any  other  Indians 
we  have  seen.  They  showed  us  some  orna- 
ments of  chased  silver,  which  they  offered  fur 
sale ;  also  bottle-shaped  baskets,  made  of  roots 
and  bark,  so  closely  woven  together  as  to  hold 


(t 


THE  "tuunder-bird:' 


143 


water.  But  most  curious  to  us  were  some  lit- 
tle black,  polished  columns,  about  a  foot  high, 
that  looked  like  ebony.  They  were  covered 
with  carvings,  very  skilfully  executed.  When 
we  took  them  into  our  hands,  we  were  surprised 
at  their  weight,  and  found  that  they  were  made 
of  a  fine,  black  coal-slate.  A  man  who  stood 
by  explained  to  us  that  this  slate  is  a  peculiar 
product  of  their  islands.  When  first  quarried, 
it  is  so  soft  as  to  be  easily  cut ;  and  when  after- 
ward rubbed  with  oil,  and  exposed  to  the  air, 
it  becomes  intensely  hard.  At  the  foot  of 
tlie  column  was  the  bear,  who  guards  the  en- 
trance of  their  lodges ;  at  the  top,  the  crow, 
who  presides  over  every  thing.  On  some  were 
frogs  and  lizards.  One  was  surmounted  by  the 
''  thunder-bird,  "  a  mythological  combination  of 
man  and  bird,  who  lives  among  the  moun- 
tains. When  he  sails  out  from  them,  the  sky  is 
darkened ;  and  the  flapping  of  his  wings  makes 
the  thunder,  and  the  winking  of  his  eyes  the 
lightning.  It  is  very  strange  that  the  "  thun- 
der-bird "  should  be  one  of  the  deities  of  the 
Indians  of  the  North-west,  where  thunder  is  so 
rare  as  to  be  phenomenal.  We  heard  of  him 
in  other  parts  of  British  Columbia,  and  see  him 
represented  in  carvings  from  Sitka.  Tatoosh 
Island,  off  Cape  Flattery,  where  the  Makah  In- 


¥ 


w 


144 


INDIAN   GAME. 


dians  live,  derives  its  name  from  Tootootche^ 
the  Nootka  name  for  the  "thunder-bird."  The 
INIakalis  originally  came  iTom  the  west  coast 
of  Vancouver's  Island.  They  deem  themselves 
much  superior  to  the  tribes  of  the  interior,  l)e- 
cause  they  go  out  on  the  ocean.  Their  home 
being  on  the  rocky  coast  islands,  they  naturally 
look  to  the  water  to  secure  their  living.  Their 
chief  business  is  to  hunt  the  Avhale,  they  being 
the  only  Indians  who  engage  in  this  pursuit. 

Sometimes  we  found  the  Indians  so  deeply 
interested  in  a  game  they  were  playing,  that 
they  took  no  notice  of  us.  It  was  played  with 
slender  round  sticks,  about  six  inches  long, 
made  of  yew  wood,  so  exquisitel}'  polished  that 
it  had  a  gloss  like  satin.  Some  of  the  sticks 
were  inlaid  with  little  bits  of  rainbow  pearl, 
and  I  saw  one  on  which  the  figure  of  a  fish  was 
very  skilfully  represented.  It  is  quite  incom- 
prehensible, liow  tliey  can  do  such  delicate 
work  with  the  })oor  tools  they  have.  They  use 
only  something  like  a  cobbler's  knife. 

They  shuffled  the  sticks  under  tow  of  cedar- 
bark,  droning  all  the  time  a  low,  monotonous 
chant.  It  is  curious  that  any  thing  so  extremely 
simple  can  be  so  fascinating.  They  will  sit  all 
day  and  night,  without  stopping  for  food,  and 
gamble  away  G\evy  thing  they  possess.     It  ap- 


INDIAN  BURIAL-PLACE. 


115 


peared  to  be  identical  witli  the  old  game  of 
*'  Odd  or  Even  "  played  by  the  ancient  Greeks, 
as  described  by  Plato. 

We  saw  here  the  great  conical  hat  worn  by 
the  Cape-Flattery  Indians,  similar  in  form  to 
the  Chinese  hat;  and  also  some  blankets  of 
their  own  manufacture,  woven  of  dog's  hair. 


Port  Townsend,  Washinoton  Territory, 
April  4,  18G0. 

This  afternoon  we  rode  past  the  gnive-yard  of 
the  Indians  on  the  b\3ach.  It  is  a  picturesque 
spot,  as  most  of  their  burial-places  are.  They 
like  to  select  them  where  land  and  water  meet. 
A  very  old  woman,  wrai)ped  in  a  green  blanket, 
was  digging  clams  with  her  paddle  in  the  sand. 
She  was  one  of  those  stiff  old  Indians,  Avhom  we 
occasionally  see,  who  do  not  speak  the  Chinook 
at  all,  and  take  no  notice  whatever  of  the  whites. 
I  never  feel  as  if  they  even  see  me  when  I  am 
with  them.  They  seem  always  in  a  deep  dream. 
Her  youth  must  have  been  long  before  any 
white  people  came  to  the  country.  When  she 
dies,  her  body  will  be  wrapped  in  the  tattered 
green  blanket,  and  laid  here,  witli  her  paddle, 
lier  only  possession,  stuck  up  bcoide  her  in  the 
sand. 

We  saw  two  Indians  busy  at  one  of  the  little 


W' 


146      OFFEklNGS  TO  THE  SPIRIT  OF  A  CHILD. 


■Vk 

1'*!  \  i^j   '■ 

III 

< 

:'  1- 

I'      ' 

■     '  ■  '■        i 
'■  i-      ! 

M.' 

!i    ■  '< 

'       i! 
'  ■',    '  !; 

huts  that  cover  the  graves.  They  were  nailing 
a  nevr  red  covering  over  it.  We  asked  them 
if  a  cliief  was  dead.  A  klootehman  we  had  not 
noticed  before  looked  up,  and  said  mournfully, 
"  No,"  it  was  her  "  little  woman."  I  saw  that 
she  liad  before  her,  on  the  sand,  a  number  of 
little  bright  toys,  —  a  doll  wrapped  in  calico, 
a  musical  ball,  a  looking-glass,  a  package  of 
candy  and  one  of  cakes,  a  bright  tin  pail  full 
of  sirup,  and  two  large  sacks,  one  of  bread, 
and  the  other  of  apples. 

Another  and  older  woman  was  picking  up 
driftwood,  and  arranging  it  for  a  fire.  When 
the  men  had  finished  their  work  at  the  hut, 
they  came  and  helped  her.  They  laid  it  very 
carefully,  with  a  great  many  openings,  and 
level  on  the  top,  and  lighted  it. 

Then  the  grandmother  brought  a  little  pur- 
ple woollen  shawl,  and  gave  it  to  the  old  man. 
He  held  it  out  as  far  as  his  arm  could  reach, 
and  waved  it,  and  apparently  called  to  the  spirit 
of  the  child  to  come  and  receive  it ;  and  he  then 
cast  it  into  the  fire.  He  spoke  in  the  old  Indian 
language,  which  they  do  not  use  in  talking  with 
us.  It  sounded  very  strange  and  thrilling.  Each 
little  toy  they  handled  with  great  care  before 
putting  it  into  the  flames.  After  they  had 
burned  up  the  bread  and  the  apples,  they  poured 


OFFERINGS  TO   THE  SPIRIT  OF  A   CHILD.       147 


on  some  sugar,  and  smothered  the  flames, 
making  a  dense  column  of  smoke. 

Then  they  all  moved  a  little  farther  back,  and 
motioned  us  to  also.  We  wondered  they  had 
tolerated  us  so  long,  as  tliey  dislike  being  ob- 
served ;  but  they  seemed  to  feel  that  we  sympa- 
thized with  them.  The  old  man  staid  nearest. 
He  lay  down  on  the  sand,  half  hidden  by  a 
wrecked  tree.  He  stripped  liis  arms  and  legs 
bare,  and  pulled  his  hair  all  up  to  the  top  of  his 
head,  and  knotted  it  in  a  curious  way,  so  that 
it  nodded  in  a  shaggy  tuft  over  his  forehead. 
Then  he  lay  motionless,  looking  at  the  fire, 
once  in  a  while  turning  and  saying  something 
to  the  women,  apparently  about  the  child,  as  I 
several  times  distinguished  the  word  tenas-tenas 
(the  little  one).  I  thought  perhaps  he  might 
be  describing  her  coming  and  taking  the  things. 
At  times  he  became  very  animated.  They  did 
not  stir,  only  answered  with  a  kind  of  mournful 
"  Ah  —  ah,"  to  every  thing  he  said. 

At  last  their  little  dog  bounded  forward,  as 
if  to  meet  some  one.  At  that,  they  were  very 
much  excited  and  pleased,  and  motioned  us  to 
go  farther  off  still,  as  if  it  were  too  sacrilegious 
for  us  to  stay  there.  They  all  turned  away 
but  the  old  man,  and  he  began  to  move  in  a 
stealthy  way  towards  the  fire.     All  the  clumsi- 


w 


148      OFFERINGS   TO   THE  SPIRIT  OF  A  CHILD, 

ness  and  weight  of  a  man  seemed  to  be  gone. 
lie  was  as  light  and  wiry  as  a  snake,  and  glided 
round  the  old  drift  that  strewed  the  sand,  with 
his  body  prostrate,  but  his  head  held  ereet,  and 
his  bright  eyes  fixed  on  the  fire,  like  some  wild 
desert  creature,  which  lie  appeared  to  counter- 
fei."'.  The  Indians  think,  that,  by  assuming  the 
shape  of  any  creature,  they  can  acquire  some- 
thing of  its  power.  When  he  had  nearly 
reached  the  fire,  he  sprang  up,  and  caught 
something  from  it.  I  could  not  tell  whether  it 
was  real  or  imaginary.  He  held  it  up  to  his 
breast,  and  appeared  to  caress  it,  and  try  to 
twine  it  about  his  neck.  I  thought  at  first 
it  was  a  coal  of  fire ;  perhaps  it  was  smoke. 
Three  times  he  leaped  nearly  into  the  flames  in 
this  way,  and  darted  at  something  which  he 
apparently  tried  to  seize.  Then  he  seemed  to 
assure  the  others  that  he  had  accomplished  his 
purpose ;  and  they  all  went  immediately  off, 
without  looking  back. 

April  20, 1869. 

We  are  surprised  to  find  so  many  New-Eng- 
land people  a-bout  us.  Man}^  of  those  who  are 
interested  in  the  saw-mills  are  lumbermen  from 
Maine.  The  two  men  who  first  established 
themselves   in   the   great  wilderness,  with  un- 


r/ONKhJiS. 


149 


broken  forest,  iiiul  only  Indians  about  tliem, 
are  still  living:  near  us.  They  are  men  of  re- 
sourees,  as  well  as  enduranee.  A  man  who 
comes  to  do  battle  against  these  i^reat  trees 
must  necessarily  ue  of  (piite  a  difterent  char- 
acter from  one  who  expects,  as  the  California 
pioneer  did,  to  pick  up  his  fortune  in  the  dust 
at  his  feet.  I  am  often  reminded  of  Thoreau's 
experienco  in  the  Maine  woods.  He  says,  "The 
deeper  you  penetrate  into  the  woods,  the  more 
intelligent,  and,  in  one  sense,  less  countrified, 
do  you  find  the  inhabitants ;  for  always  the 
l)ioneer  has  been  a  traveller,  and  to  some  ex- 
tent a  man  of  the  world ;  and,  as  the  distances 
with  which  he  is  familiar  are  greater,  so  is  his 
information  more  general  and  far-reaching." 


May  30, 1869. 

The  gulls  and  crows  give  parties  to  each 
other  on  the  sand,  at  low-tide.  Farther  out 
are  the  ducks,  wheeling  about,  and  calling  to 
each  other,  with  sharp,  lively  voices.  It  is  curi- 
ous to  watch  them,  and  try  to  understand  their 
impulses.  Sometimes  they  are  all  perfectly 
motionless,  sitting  in  companies  of  hundreds,  in 
the  deepest  calm ;  sometimes  all  in  a  flutter, 
tripping  over  the  water,  with  their  wings  just 
striking  it,  uttering  their  shrill  cry.     They  dive, 


,  lU  M' 


150 


CROWS  AND  SEA-BIRDS. 


but  never  come  to  shore.  Wliat  one  does,  all 
the  rest  humediately  do.  Sometimes  the  whole 
little  flcfc^  is  gone  in  an  instant,  and  the  water 
unruffled  above  them. 

'  The  pret^  iost  among  them  is  the  spirit-duck, 
—  its  motion  is  so  beautiful,  as  it  breasts  the 
little  billows,  or  glides  through  the  still  water. 
Their  bosoms  are  so  like  the  white-caps,  I  have 
to  look  for  their  little  black  heads,  to  see  where 
they  are.  Once  in  a  while,  a  loon  comes  sail- 
ing along,  in  its  slow,  stately  way,  turning  its 
slender,  graceful  neck  from  side  to  side,  as  if 
enjoying  the  scenery.  We  never  see  more  than 
two  of  them  together,  and  they  generally  sepa- 
rate soon. 


X. 


Puget  Sound  and  Adjacent  "Waters.  —  Its  Early  Explorers.  — 
Towns,  Harbors,  and  Channels.  —  Vancouver's  Nomencla- 
ture. —  Juan  de  Fuca.  —  Mount  Baker.  —  Chinese  "Wing." 
—  Ancient  Indian  Women.  —  Pink  Flowering  Currant  and 
Humming-BirdB.  —  "  Ah  Sing." 

Port  Townsend,  Sept.  10, 1869. 

"TTTE  have  been  spending  a  day  or  two  in 
'  '  travelling  about  the  Sound  by  steamer, 
touching  at  the  various  mill  towns  and  other 
ports,  where  the  boat  calls,  to  receive  and  de- 
liver the  mails,  or  for  other  business.  Every 
time  we  pass  over  these  waters,  we  admire  anew 
their  extent  and  beauty,  and  their  attractive  sur- 
roundings, their  lovely  bays  aud  far-reaciiing 
inlets,  their  bold  promontories  and  lofty  s  lores, 
their  setting  in  the  evergreen  forest,  ar^d  the 
great  mountains  in  the  distance,  standing  guard 
on  either  side. 

The  early  explorers  who  visited  this  part  of 
the  country  evidently  had  a  high  appreciation 
of  it,  as  their  accounts  of  it  show.  Vancouver, 
who  came  in  1792,  expressed  so  much  admira- 

151 


r,i?' 


;i!*^ 


wmr^ 


152 


THE  EARLY  EXPLORERS. 


m 


tion  of  these  waters  and  their  surroundings, 
that  his  statements  were  received  with  hesita- 
tion, and  it  was  supposed  that  his  enthusiasm 
as  an  explorer  had  led  him  to  exaggeratioij. 
But  Wilkes,  who  followed  him  many  years 
afterwards,  confirmed  all  thttt  he  had  said,  and, 
in  his  narrative,  writes  as  follows  regarding  this 
great  inland  sea  :  — 

''Nothing  can  exceed  the  beauty  of  these 
waters,  and  their  safety.  Not  a  shoal  exists 
within  the  Straits  of  San  Juan  de  Fuca,  Ad- 
miralty Inlet,  Puget  Sound,  or  Hood's  Canal, 
that  can  in  any  way  interrupt  their  navigation 
by  a  seventy -four-gun  ship.  I  venture  nothing 
in  saying  there  is  no  country  in  the  world  that 
possesses  waters  equal  to  these." 

In  another  account  Wilkes  writes :  "  One  of 
the  most  noble  estuaries  in  the  world ;  without  a 
danger  of  any  kind  to  impede  navigation  ;  with 
a  surrounding  country  capable  of  affording  all 
kinds  of  supplies,  iiarbors  without  obstruction 
at  any  season  of  the  year,  and  a  climate  unsur- 
passed in  salubrity." 

More  recently  the  United-States  Coast  Sur- 
vey Report  of  1858  declares,  that  "P^or  depth 
of  water,  boldness  of  approaches,  freedom  from 
hidden  dangers,  and  the  immeasurable  sea  of 
gigantic    timber    coming    down    to    the    very 


mu 


PUGET  SOUND  AND  ITS   CONNECTIONS.     153 


shores,  these  waters  are  unsurpassed,  unap- 
proachable." 

We  were  at  first  puzzled  by  the  various 
names  given  to  the  different  waters  over  which 
\iG  travelled ;  but  soon  discovered,  that,  while 
the  term  "Paget  Sound  "is  popularly  applied 
to  the  whole  of  them,  it  properly  belongs  only 
to  the  comparatively  small  body  of  water  lying 
beyond  the  "  Narrows,"  at  the  southern  end, 
and  the  arms  and  inlets  that  branch  therefrom. 

The  great  natural  divisions  of  this  system 
are :  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  extending 
from  the  ocean  eastward  about  eighty  miles, 
and  then  branching  into  the  vast  Gulf  of 
Georgia  to  the  north,  and  Admiralty  Inlet  to 
the  south;  Hood's  Canal,  branching  from  the 
hitter,  on  the  west  side,  near  the  entrance,  and 
running  south-west  about  sixty  miles ;  Posses- 
sion Sound,  branching  from  the  east  side,  and 
extending  north  between  Wliidby  Island  and  the 
mainland,  as  far  as  Rosario  Straits;  and  Puget 
Sound,  connected  with  tlie  southerly  end  of 
Admiralty  Inlet  by  the  "Narrows." 

We  commenced  our  recent  trip  at  Victoria, 
and  crossed  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  —  throus^h 
Avliich  tlie  west  wind  draws  as  through  a  tun- 
nel,—  to  Port  Angeles.  Tliis  place  was  named 
by  Don  Francisco   Elisa,  who  was  sent  out  to 


ll-H 


154 


FORT  ANGELES. 


DUNG  EN  ESS, 


this  region  in  1791  by  the  Mexican  Viceroy. 
Of  course  Don  Francisco  must  compliment  the 
Viceroy  by  giving  his  name  to  some  important 
points.  This  royal  personage  liad  a  string  of 
ten  proper  names,  besides  his  titles.  These  Don 
Francisco  distributed  according  to  his  judgment. 
Being  apparently  a  religious  man,  he  was  mind- 
ful also  of  the  claims  of  saints  and  angels  ;  and, 
when  he  reached  the  first  good  harbor  on  tlie 
upper  coast,  he  called  it  Puerto  de  los  Angeles 
(Port  of  the  Angels). 

Proceeding  eastward,  the  next  point  of  in- 
terest is  New  Dungeness,  so  called  by  Van- 
couver from  its  resemblance  in  situation  to 
Dungeness  on  the  British  Channel.  The  har- 
bor of  this  place,  like  that  of  Port  Angeles,  is 
formed  by  a  long  sand-spit  that  curves  out  from 
the  shore.  On  account  of  this  resemblance, 
Vancouver  gave  to  Port  Angeles  the  name  of 
False  Dungeness,  thinking  it  might  be  mistaken 
for  the  other.  But  this  name  has  been  dropped, 
and  the  more  pcetical  designation  of  the  Span- 
iard retained.  Tjie  pious  Elisa  called  the  long- 
pointed  sand-spit  at  Dungeness  "the  Point  of 
the  Holy  Cross." 

The  great  body  of  water  north  of  Vancouver's 
Island,  which  had  not  yet  received  its  name, 
he  called  Canal  de  Nuestra  Sehora  del  Mosario 


PORT  TOWN  SEND. 


155 


(the  Channel  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Rosary). 
When  Van-;ouver,  in  the  following  year,  gave 
his  own  name  to  the  island,  he  called  this  body 
of  water  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  in  honor  of  George 
III.,  the  reigning  king  of  England.  The  name 
given  by  Elisa  is  still  retained  by  the  strait  east 
of  the  De  Haro  Archipelago. 

The  next  place  at  which  we  stopped  was  Port 
Townsend.  This  was  named,  by  Vancouver, 
Marrowstone  Point,  from  the  cliff  of  marrow- 
stone  at  tho  head  of  the  peninsula ;  but  this 
name  was  afterwards  given  to  the  headland  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  entrance  to  Port  Town- 
send  Bay,  to  the  south-east  of  the  town,  and 
the  name  of  Townshend,  one  ot  the  lords  of 
the  Admiralty,  was  given  to  the  bay.  The 
town  afterwards  took  the  same  name,  dropping 
the  h  from  it.  Admiralty  Inlet  commences 
here,  and  was  named  by  Vancouver  in  honor 
of  the  Board  of  Admiralty  for  whom  he  sailed. 
Hood's  Canal  was  named  for  another  of  the 
lord-members  of  the  Board. 

Opposite,  across  the  inlet,  to  the  north  and 
east,  lies  Whidby  Island,  which  Vancouver 
named  for  one  of  his  lieutenants.  It  is  a  pity 
it  could  not  have  had  some  more  poetic  name, 
it  is  so  beautiful  a  place  ;  it  is  familiarly  known 
here  as  the  "  Garden  of  the  Territory."    It  was 


vm 


156 


WIIIDBY  ISLAND. 


formerly  owned  and  occupied  by  the  SLagit  In- 
dians, a  large  tribe,  who  had  several  villages 
there,  and  fine  pasture-grounds ;  their  name 
being  still  retained  by  the  prominent  lieadland 
at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  island.  I  heard 
one  of  the  passengers  remark  that  there  were 
formerly  white  deer  there.  I  strained  my  eyes 
as  long  as  it  was  in  sight,  hoping  to  see  one  of 
these  lovely  creatures  emerge  from  the  dark 
woods ;  but  in  vain.  Wilkes  says  that  the 
Skagit  Indians  had  large,  well-built  lodges  of 
timber  and  planks.  But,  since  so  many  tribes 
have  been  swept  away  by  the  small-pox,  most 
of  them  have  lost  their  interest  in  making  sub- 
stantial houses,  feeling  that  they  have  so  little 
while  to  live.  North  of  Whidby  is  Fidalgo 
Island,  named  for  a  Spanish  officer.  Between 
them  is  a  narrow  passage,  called  Deception 
Pass,  very  intricate  and  full  of  rocks,  above 
and  below  the  water,  and  most  difficult  to  navi- 
gate,—  in  striking  contrast  to  the  waters  of  the 
Sound  in  general. 

We  called  at  Port  Ludlow  and  Port  Gamble, 
the  latter  on  Hood's  Canal,  near  the  entrance, 
—  Teekalet  being  its  Indian  name.  Returning 
to  Admiralty  Inlet,  we  presently  passed  Skagit 
Head,  at  the  entrance  of  Possession  Sound, 
so  named  by  Vancouver  to  commemorate  the 


VANCOUVER'S  NOMENCLATURE. 


157 


formal  taking  possession,  by  him,  of  all  the  ter- 
ritory around  the  Strai  ,s  of  Fuca  and  Admiralty 
Inlet,  on  the  king's  birthday. 

We  steamed  serenely  on,  over  the  clear,  still 
water,  to  Port  Madison,  and  then  crossed  the 
inlet  to  Seattle.  Thence  we  proceeded  south, 
and  passed  Vashon  Island,  which  has  many 
attractive  features.  Quartermaster's  Harbor, 
at  the  southern  end,  is  a  lovely  place ;  and  beau- 
tiful shells  and  fossils  are  to  be  found  there. 
Occasionally  we  came  across  a  great  boom  of 
logs,  travelling  down  to  some  saw-mill;  or  a 
crested  cormorant,  seated  on  a  fragment  of 
drift,  sailed  for  a  while  in  our  company.  We 
passed  on  through  the  "  Narrows,"  and  entered 
Puget  Sound  proper,  named  for  Peter  Puget, 
one  of  Vancouver's  lieutenants,  who  explored 
it. 

All  Vancouver's  friends,  patrons,  and  officers 

—  lieutenants,  pursers,  pilots,  and  pilot's  mates 

—  are  abundantly  honored  in  the  names  scat- 
tered about  this  region.  He  appears,  too,  to 
have  had  a  good  appreciation  of  nature,  and 
praised,  in  his  report,  the  landscape  and  the 
flowers.  He  regarded  somewhat,  in  his  nomen- 
clature, the  natural  features  of  the  country; 
as  in  Point  Partridge,  the  eastern  headland  of 
Whidby  Island ;  Hazel  Point,  on  Hood's  Canal ; 


k 


>  1 


1  ! 


158 


STEILACOOM.  —  OL  YMPIA. 


Cypress  Island,  one  of  the  Sun  Juan  group ;  and 
Birch  Bay,  south  of  the  delta  of  Fraser  River. 

The  Spanish  explorers  in  this  region  do  not 
seem  to  have  taken  much  pains  to  record  and 
publish  the  result  of  their  discoveries.  Vancou- 
ver held  on  to  bis  with  true  English  grip,  and 
often  supplanted  their  names  by  others  of  his 
own  choosing. 

At  night  we  reached  Steilacoom,  where  there 
was  formerly  a  military  post.  It  has  an  impos- 
ing situation,  with  a  fine  mountain  view;  and 
there  are  some  excellent  military  roads  leading 
from  it  in  various  directions. 

We  spent  a  pleasant  day  at  Olympia,  which 
lies  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Sound, 
and  resembles  a  New-England  village,  with  its 
maples  shading  the  streets,  and  flower-gardens. 
It  has  an  excellent  class  of  people,  as  have  the 
towns  upon  the  Sound  in  general ;  and  the 
evidences  of  taste  and  culture,  which  are  con- 
tinually seen,  are  one  of  the  pleasantest  charac- 
teristics of  this  new  and  thinly  settled  part  of 
the  country. 

There  are  no  saw-mills  on  the  Straits  of  Fuca, 
and  the  slight  settlements  along  its  shores  have 
scarcely  marred  their  primitive  wildness  and 
beauty.  The  original  forest-line  is  hardly 
broken ;  the  deer  still  come  down  to  the  water's 


MOUNT  BAKER. 


159 


edge ;  and  the  face  of  the  country  has  apparently 
not  changed  since  Vancouver,  nearly  a  hundred 
years  ago,  stooped  to  gather  the  May  roses  at 
Dungeness;  or  Juan  de  Fuca,  two  centuries 
earlier,  *'  sailed  into  that  silent  sea,"  and  looked 
round  at  the  mountains,  —  not  less  beautiful, 
tliough  more  imposing,  than  those  that  lay 
about  his  own  home  on  the  distant  Mediterra- 
nean. 

Dec.  10, 18(J9. 

We  have  just  seen  an  English  gentleman  who 
came  over  to  this  country  for  the  purpose  of 
ascending  Mount  Baker,  first  called  by  the 
Spaniards  Montana  del  Carmelo.  He  was  three 
years  in  trying  to  get  a  small  company  to  at- 
tempt the  expedition  with  him.  Indians  do  not 
at  all  incline  to  ascending  mountains ;  they 
seem  to  have  somp  superstitious  fear  about  it. 
I  believe  this  mountain  has  never  been  explored 
to  any  extent.  He  describes  the  colors  of  the 
snow  and  ice  as  intensely  beautiful.  He  has 
travelled  among  the  Alps,  but  saw  an  entirely 
new  phenomenon  on  the  summit  of  Mount 
Baker,  —  the  snow  like  little  tongues  of  flame. 
In  the  deep  rifts  was  a  most  exquisite  blue. 
On  the  last  day's  upward  journey,  they  were 
obliged  to  throw  away  all  their  blankets,  —  as 
they  were  not  able  to  carry  any  weight,  —  and 


■i      '■ 


160 


CHINESE  "  wing:* 


depend  on  chance  for  the  night's  shelter.  How 
well  Fate  rewarded  them  for  trusting  her ! 
They  happened  at  night  upon  a  warm  cavern, 
where  any  extra  coverings  would  have  been 
quite  superfluous.  It  was  part  of  the  crater, 
but  they  slept  quietly  notwithstanding. 

Jan,  15, 1870. 

We  have  now  a  little  Chinese  boy  to  live 
with  us ;  that  is,  he  represents  himself  as  a  boy, 
but  he  seems  more  as  if  he  were  a  most  ancient 
man.  He  might  have  stepped  out  of  some 
Ninevite  or  Egyptian  sculpture.  He  is  like  the 
little  figures  in  the  processions  on  the  tombs, 
and  his  face  is  perfectly  grave  and  unchanging 
all  the  time.  I  feel  about  him,  as  I  do  about 
some  of  the  Indians,  —  as  if  he  had  not  only 
his  own  age,  but  the  age  of  ^lis  race,  about  him. 

There  never  could  be  any  thing  more  in- 
appropriate than  that  he  should  be  named 
"  Wing,"  for  no  creature  could  be  farther 
from  any  thing  light  or  airy.  One  reason,  I 
think,  why  he  seems  so  different  from  any  of 
his  countrymen  that  we  have  seen,  is  because 
he  has  never  lived  in  a  city,  but  only  in  a  small 
village,  which  he  says  has  no  name  that  we 
should  understand. 

He  works  in  the  slowest  possible  way,  but 


CHINESE  "  wing:' 


IGl 


most  faithfully  and  incessantly,  and  never 
shows  the  slightest  desire  for  any  recreation 
or  rest.  Even  the  anticipation  of  the  great  na- 
tional Cliinese  feast,  which  is  to  be  celebrated 
next  month,  and  wliicli  occurs  only  once  in  a 
thousand  years,  has  faile<^  to  arouse  any  entliu- 
siasm  in  him,  and  he  is  ai)parently  quite  indif- 
ferent to  it. 

Our  goat  has  taken  a  great  dislike  to  him, — 
I  think  just  because  he  is  so  different  from  her- 
self. She  is  always  making  thrusts  at  him  with 
her  liorns,  and  trying  to  butt  him  over.  But 
he  preserves,  even  toward  her,  his  uniform 
sweet  manner ;  calls  her  a  "  sheep,"  entirely 
ignoring  her  rude,  fierce  ways;  lends  her  to 
pasture  every  day,  under  great  difficulties ;  and 
attempts  to  milk  her,  at  the  risk  uf  his  life. 
The  serenity  of  these  people  is  really  to  be 
envied ;  they  go  on  their  way  so  perfectly  un- 
disturbed, whatever  happens. 


Apbil  30, 1870. 

The  tides  are  very  peculiar  here.  Every 
alternate  fortnight  they  run  very  low,  and  then 
the  beach  is  uncovered  so  far  out  that  we  can 
take  long  rides  on  it,  as  far  as  the  head  of  the 
bay. 

We  are  very  much  entertained  with  seeing 


102 


ANCIENT  INDIAN    WOMEN. 


the  old  Indian  crones  digging  clams.  They 
appear  to  be  equally  amused  with  us,  and 
chuckle  ^ith  delight  as  we  pass.  It  seems 
very  strange  to  see  human  beings  without  the 
least  api)roach  to  any  thing  civilized  or  artifi- 
cial, witli  the  single  exception  of  the  old. blan- 
kets knotted  about  them  with  pieces  of  rope ; 
but  when  I  compare  them  with  civilized  women 
of  the  same  age,  who  are  generally  heli)less,  I 
see  that  they  have  a  great  advantage  over  them. 
They  are  out  everywhere,  in  all  weathers,  and 
do  always  the  hardest  of  the  work.  We  meet 
them  often  in  the  woods,  so  bowed  doWn  under 
the  loads  of  bark  on  their  backs,  that  it  looks 
as  if  the  bark  itself  had  a  stout  pair  of  legs, 
and  were  walking.  Our  horse  is  always  fright- 
ened, and  can  never  get  used  to  them. 

We  can  ride  now  for  hours  on  the  beach, 
looking  at  the  water  on  one  side,  and  on  the 
other  at  the  densely  wooded  bluffs,  now  most 
beautifully  lighted  up  by  the  pink  flowering 
currant.  It  is  like  the  rhodora  at  home,  in  re- 
spect to  coming  very  early,  —  the  flowers  before 
the  leaves.  At  first  it  is  of  a  delicate  faint  pink ; 
but  as  the  season  advances  it  becomes  very  deep 
and  rich  in  color,  and  contrasts  most  beautifully 
with  the  drapery  of  light-gray  moss,  and  the 
dark  fir-trees. 


''An  S/NG.'' 


168 


This  flower  attracts  the  linmming-bird,  and 
furnishes  its  curliest  food.  This  delicate,  tropi- 
cal-looking little  creature  is  the  first  bird  to 
arrive ;  coming  often  in  March  from  its  winter 
homo  in  (-alifornia,  where  it  lives  on  another 
species  of  flowering  currant  that  blooms  throngli 
tlie  winter. 

In  making  some  excavations  here,  there  have 
been  found  the  bones  and  teeth  of  the  Ameri- 
can elephant,  and  with  them  a  bone  made  into 
a  wedge,  such  as  the  Indians  here  use  in  split- 
ting wood ;  which  seems  to  imply  great  antiquity 
for  their  race. 

Aug.  10, 1870. 

We  have  a  new  China  boy,  Ah  Sing,  wlio  is 
very  impulsive  and  enthusiastic,  quite  a  differ- 
ent character  from  the  unemotional  Wing. 
He  is  almost  too  zealous  to  learn.  R.  began  to 
teach  him  his  letters,  to  make  him  contented. 
I  hear  him  now  repeating  them  over  and  over 
to  himself,  with  great  emphasis,  while  he  is 
washing  the  clothes.  He  is  so  big  and  strong, 
that  they  come  out  with  great  force.  A  few 
nights  ago,  after  everybody  had  gone  to  bed, 
he  came  down  past  our  room,  and  went  into 
tlie  kitchen.  R.  followed  him  to  see  what  was 
tlie  matter,  and,  as  the  boy  looked  a  little  wild, 
thought  perhaps  he  was  going  into  a  fit.     He 


164 


AH  SING.'' 


had  seized  the  primer,  and  was  flourishing  it 
about  and  gesticuhiting  with  it;  and  finally  R., 
who  has  a  wonderful  faculty  for  comprehending 
the  Chinese,  divined  that  he  had  gone  to  bed 
without  a  lesson,  and  could  not  sleep  until  he 
had  learned  something. 


/^  f 


XI. 

Rocky-mountain  Region. — Railroad  from  Columbia  River  to 
Puget  Soraul.  —  Mountain  Chai\ges.  —  Mixture  of  Nation- 
alities. —  Journey  to  Coos  Bay,  Oregon.  —  Mountain  Canon. 
—  A  Brancli  of  the  Coquille. —Empire  City.  —  Myrtle 
Grove.  —  Yaquina.  —  Genial  Dwellers  in  the  "Woods.  —  Our 
Unknown  Neighbor.  —  TVha'.os.  —  Pet  Seal  and  Eagle. — 
A  Mourning  Mother.  — Visit  from  Yeomana. 


Port  Townsend,  Nov.  18, 1872. 

WE  had  quite  a  pleasant  journey  back  from 
the  East,  and  saw  some  things  wo  must 
have  passed  in  the  night  on  our  trip  tliitlier. 
About  the  Rocky-mountain  region  we  saw  what 
appeared  to  be  immense  ruins ;  but  they  were 
really  natural  formations,  resembling  old  castles, 
with  ramparts  and  battlements  and  towers.  I 
could  not  help  feeling  as  if  they  must  belong 
to  some  gigantic  extinct  race.  On  the  wide, 
solitary  plains  they  were  most  imposing. 

At  the  Laramie  Plains,  where  we  stopped  a 
while,  we  were  so  blinded  by  the  glittering 
'^-rystals  of  quartz  and  specks  of  mica,  we  could 
well  understand  wliy  the  name  of  the  Glitter- 

165 


m 


166 


RAILROAD   TO  PUGET  SOUND. 


!  m 


HP 


ing  Mountains  was  first  given  to  the  Rocky- 
mountain  Range. 

We  saw  at  Cheyenne  a  most  curious  cactus. 
Outside,  it  was  only  a  green,  prickly  ball ;  in- 
side, was  a  deep  nest,  filled  with  a  cluster  of 
pink  blossoms. 

We  looked  into  the  beautiful  Blue  Canon  — 
blue  with  mist.  Hundreds  of  feet  below  us 
was  the  gliding  silver  line  of  a  stream. 

At  one  of  our  stopping-places  was  a  team  of 
buffalo  and  oxen  working  together.  To  see 
this  chief  Manitou  of  the  Indians  so  degraded, 
was  like  seeing  a  captive  Jugurtha. 

We  found  great  changes  had  taken  place 
within  a  year  between  Columbia  River  and 
Puget  Sound.  Where  we  used  to  cross  alone, 
in  the  deepest  solitude  of  the  forest,  there  were 
cars  running,  gangs  of  Chinamen  everywhere 
at  work,  great  burnt  tracts,  and  piles  of  fire- 
wood. Once  in  a  while  a  stray  deer  bounded 
by,  and  turned  back  to  look  at  us,  with  pretty, 
innocent  curiosity.  And  there  wero  still  some 
of  the  old  trees  left  standing,  gnarled  and 
twisted,  and  so  thickly  coated  with  moss,  that 
great  ferns  grew  out  of  it,  and  hung  down  from 
the  branches.  What  a  pity  to  destroy  the  work 
of  centuries,  the  like  of  wliich  we  shall  never 
see  again  I 


MOUNTAIN   CHANGES. 


167 


We  saw  to-day  some  of  the  pretty  spotted 
sea-doves,  that  have  just  arrived  to  spend  tlie 
winter  with  us.  Puget  Sound,  with  its  mild 
climate,  is  their  Florida  or  Bermuda.  In  early 
spring  they  return  to  the  rocky  lagoons  of  the 
North,  to  pair  and  breed. 

Dec.  15, 1872. 
With  our  wider  range  from  the  hill-top  to 
wliich  we  have  removed,  we  notice  more  how 
the  appearance  of  the  mountains  changes  with 
tlie  changes  of  the  sky.  This  morning  they 
were  all  rose-color ;  and  an^  now  so  ghostly,  the 
snow  like  shrouds  about  them.  Before,  we  had 
only  single  chains  and  solitary  peaks  ;  here,  wo 
look  into  tlie  bosom  of  a  monntainous  country, 
and  every  change  In  the  light  reveals  something 
new.  Where  we  have  many  times  looked  wil  h- 
out  seeing  any  thing,  at  length  some  beautiful 
new  outline  appears  in  fiiint  silver  on  the  dis- 
tant horizon.  Heaven  ou[:ht  to  be  more  real 
to  us  for  livincj  in  sio-ht  of  wliat  is  so  inaccessi- 
ble,  and  so  full  of  beauty  and  mystery. 


Marvh  9, 187;l. 

We  are  very  much  struck  witii  tlie  mixture 
of  nationalities  upon  this  coast.  We  were  so 
fortunate  as  to  secure  last  winter  the  services 


168 


A  SWEDISH  GIRL. 


of  a  splendid  great  Swedish  girl,  the  heartiest 
and  healthiest  creature  I  ever  saw.  There  did 
not  seem  to  be  a  shadow  of  any  kind  about 
har,  nor  any  thing  more  amiss  with  her  in  any 
way  than  there  is  with  the  sunshine  or  the  blue 
sky.  All  kinds  of  work  she  took  alike,  with 
equal  readiness,  and  never  admitted  to  her  mind 
a  doubt  or  anxiety  on  any  subject. 

We  felt  sorry  enough,  when  we  had  had  her 
onlv  three  weeks,  to  have  the  foreman  of  the 
mill  come  and  beg  us  to  release  her.  It  seems 
they  were  engaged  to  be  married  when  they 
left  Sweden ;  but,  being  of  thrifty  natures,  they 
had  agreed  to  work  each  a  year  before  settling 
down  in  marriage.  The  constant  sight  of  her 
charms  proved  too  much  for  him,  and  they 
decided  that  all  they  needed  to  begin  life  to- 
gether was  their  wealth  of  affection  and  their 
exuberant  health  and  spirits. 

Her  size  may  be  imagined,  when  I  mention 
that  her  lover  brought  up  six  rings  in  succes- 
sion, to  try  to  find  one  big  enough  to  go  over 
her  finger.  Finally  he  squeezed  on  the  largest 
one  he  could  obtain,  as  an  absolutely  essential 
ceremony  to  bind  them  together,  and  smiled 
with  delight  to  see  that  it  could  never  be 
taken  off. 

The  only  help  we  could  find  in  her  place,  at 


RUSSIAN   GEORGE. 


169 


her 
the 


to- 

their 


■gest 
itial 
liled 
be 

J,  at 


such  short  notice,  was  a  Russian  boy,  hxtely 
arrived  from  Kodiac.  When  we  first  saw  hini-, 
we  were  quite  disheartened  at  his  appearance, 
his  mouth  and  eyes  were  so  like  tliose  of  a  fish, 
and  he  seemed  so  terribly  uncivilized.  I  at- 
tempted to  intimate  that  I  thought  we  could 
not  undertake  to  do  any  thing  with  him.  He 
seemed  to  suspect  what  I  thought,  —  although  he 
could  not  understand  my  words,  —  and  look  tip  a 
piece  of  paper,  and  wrote  some  Russian  words  on 
it.  I  asked  him  what  they  meant ;  and  he  said, 
"  Jesus  Christ,  lie  dead ;  he  get  up  again  ;  men 
and  devils  he  take  them  all  up."  I  supposed 
the  most  civilized  person  he  had  ever  seen  was 
the  priest ;  and,  as  the  priest  had  taught  him 
that,  he  thought  it  was  a  kind  of  introduction 
for  him,  and  that  I  should  feel  it  to  be  a  bond 
of  union  between  us.  I  did  not  feel  quite  so 
much  as  if  he  were  a  fish  or  a  seal  afterward. 
All  the  time,  even  over  the  hot  cooking-stove, 
he  kept  lii.^  rough  fur  cap  on  his  liead.  His 
great  staring  eyes  rolled  round  in  every  direc- 
tion ;  and  he  looked  so  utterlv  tincouth  and  so 
bewildered,  that  I  doubted  very  much  if  he 
could  ever  be  adapted  to  our  needs. 

To  my  great  sur])rise,  liowever.  he  learned 
very  fast,  stimulated  by  his  curiosity  to  know 
about  eveiy  thing.     What  made  him  appear  so 


^ 


!'«"? 


f 


170 


JOURNEY  TO  COOS  BAT. 


\k  F^T 


very  stupid  at  first  was,  that  he  felt  so  strongly 
tlie  newness  of  all  his  surroundings.  After  he 
learned  to  talk  with  us,  lie  interested  us  very 
much  with  accounts  of  his  own  country,  and 
with  the  letters  he  read  us  from  his  father,  an 
old  man  of  ninety,  who  had  spent  his  life  in 
charge  of  convicts  in  Siberia.  He  wrote  his 
father  that  he  was  homesick ;  and  the  old  man 
replied  :  "  You  homesick  —  work !  work  by  and 
by  make  you  strong  ! "  His  letters  were  direct- 
ed only  :  "  Son  mine  —  George  Olaf."  He 
seemed  to  trust  to  some  one  on  the  way,  to  take 
an  interest  in  their  reaching  him. 

The  boy  generally  set  up  his  hymn-book  in 
some  place  where  he  could  occasionally  glance 
at  it,  and  chant  his  Russian  hymns,  while  he 
was  about  his  work.  On  the  other  side,  the 
nurse  sang  Dutch  songs  to  the  baby. 

* 

July  1, 1873. 

We  have  just  returned  from  a  long,  rough 
journey  in  southern  and  western  Oregon.  We 
crossed  tlie  Coast  Range  of  mountains,  —  not 
so  high  and  snow-capped  as  the  Cascades,  but 
beautiful  to  watch  in  tlieir  variations  of  liglit 
and  sliade,  always  the  shadows  of  clouds  travel- 
ling over  them,  and  mists  stealing  up  through  the 
dark   ravines.     A  Dutchwoman  —  our  fellow- 


MO UNTAIN    FL 0  WERS. 


171 


passenger  —  was  in  ecstasies,  exclaiming  con- 
tinually :  "  How  beautiful  is  the  land  liere ! 
How  hracht  [bright]  !  "  —  noticing  all  the  sun- 
lighted  places ;  but  I  was  more  attracted  by  the 
shadows.  I  heard  another  hard-looking  woman 
say  to  a  man,  that  she  cried  when  she  saw  the 
hills,  they  were  so  beautiful.  There  was  a  deep 
welcome  in  them ;  something  human  and  respon- 
sive seemed  to  till  the  stillness.  In  these  solitary 
places,  remote  from  all  other  associations,  it 
seems  as  if  Nature  couM  communicate  more 
directly  with  us. 

I  noticed,  more  than  I  ever  did  before,  the 
difference  in  the  appearance  and  bearing  of 
the  flowers ;  how  some  seemed  only  to  flaunt 
themselves,  and  others  had  so  much  more  char- 
acter. As  we  passed  a  little  opening  in  the 
woods,  a  great  dark  purple  flower,  that  was  a 
stranger  to  me,  fixed  its  gaze  upon  me  so  that 
I  felt  the  look,  as  we  sometimes  do  from  human 
eyes.  Any  thing  supernatural  is  so  in  keeping 
with  these  solitary  places,  I  felt  as  if  some  one 
had  assumed  that  form  to  greet  me.  There 
were  some  beautiful  new  flowers  ;  among  them 
a  snow-white  iris,  which  was  very  lovely.  It 
seemed  like  a  miracle  that  this  lair  little  crea- 
ture should  come  up  so  unsoiled  out  of  the 
rough,  black  earth. 


«  ,!     (        .'lif 


I 


172 


MOUNTAIN  CAM  ON. 


We  crossed  the  moiintaiii  raiij^'e  through  a 
canon.  The  road  wound  round  and  round  the 
sides  of  it,  bonietinies  so  narrow  that  it  seemed 
hardly  more  than  an  Indian  trail.  We  had  a 
true  California  djiver,  who  slioutcd  out  to  us 
every  few  minutes,  to  hold  on  tiglit,  or  all  to 
get  together  on  one  side,  or  something  equally 
bUsi)ieious  ;  but  dashed  on  without  any  regard 
to  danger.  We  were  in  constant  expectation 
of  being  hurled  to  the  bottom ;  but  it  quick- 
ened our  senses  to  enjoy  the  beauty  about  us, 
to  feel  that  any  moment  might  be  our  last. 
We  saw  behjw  us  great  trees  that  filled  tlie 
canon.  They  were  so  very  tall,  that  it  appeared 
as  if,  after  having  grown  into  what  would  be 
recognized  everywhere  as  lofty  trees,  they  had 
altered  their  views  altogether  as  to  what  a  tall 
tree  really  should  be,  and  started  anew.  We 
did  not  wholly  enjoy  looking  down  at  their 
great  mossy  arms,  stretched  out  as  if  to  re- 
ceive us.  Everywhere  was  the  most  exquisite 
fragrance,  from  the  Linntea  and  other  flowers. 
At  the  bottom  was  a  little  thread  of  a  brook. 
After  "ve  passed  through  the  cafion,  the  brook 
came  out,  and  went  down  the  mountain  side 
with  us.  It  was  very  lively  company.  Some- 
times it  Ind  from  us,  but  we  could  tell  where 
it  was,  by  the  rushing  of  the  watei.     Then   it 


EMPIRE  CITY. 


173 


would  appear  agnln,  wliirling  and  eddyliig 
about  the  rocks.  In  some  places,  its  bed  was 
of  pure,  liard  stone,  with  basins  full  of  fuaiu. 
Sometimes  the  rocks  were  covered  with  dark, 
rich  moss.  There  were  retired  little  falls  in  it, 
that  seemed  like  nuns,  so  unregarding  as  they 
were  of  all  the  commotion  about  them.  Then 
the  whole  body  of  water  would  gatlior  itself 
up,  and  shoot  down  some  rock,  and  cut  like  a 
sword-blade  into  the  still  water  below.  We 
shall  long  remember  that  little,  leaping,  dan- 
cing branch  of  the  Coquille,  that  runs  from  the 
Coast  Mountains  to  the  sea. 

Upon  learning  that  we  were  approaching 
"  Empire  City,"  we  attempted  a  hasty  toilet,  — 
as  appropriate  for  entering  a  metropolis  as  cir- 
cumstances would  permit,  —  but  we  were  kindly 
informed  that  we  might  spare  ourselves  the 
trouble,  as  the  place  consisted  at  present  of  but 
a  single  house ;  a  carpenter  having  established 
himself  there,  and,  with  a  far-seeing  eye,  given 
the  place  its  name,  and  started  a  settlement  by 
building  his  own  dwelling,  and  a  play-house  in 
the  woods- for  his  little  diiughter. 

We  spent  one  night  in  a  myrtle-grove.     The 
trees  leaned  gracefully  together,  and  the  whole' 
grove  for  miles  was  made  of  beautiful  arched 
aisles.     Coming  from  our  shaggy  firs,  and  the 


^m 


wr 


I  mil 


wm» 


I!  'f 


I    S 


li 


174 


r/i(2C7/jVyi. 


rough  nndergrowtli  that  is  always  beneath 
them,  to  these  smooth,  glossy  leaves,  and  clear, 
open  spaces  of  fine  grass,  was  like  entering 
fairy-land,  or  the  "  good  green  wood "  of  the 
ballads.  I  looked  for  princes  and  lovers  wan- 
dering among  them,  and  felt  quite  transformed 
myself.  The  driver  I  regarded  as  a  different 
man  from  that  moment ;  to  think  that  he  should 
show  so  much  good  taste  as  to  draw  up  for  the 
night  in  that  lovely  place. 

In  coming  from  the  mountain,  we  had  to 
ride  a  good  deal  of  the  way  without  seeing 
where  we  were  going ;  and  once  we  found  our- 
selves with  a  great  roof  over  our  heads,  hol- 
lowed out  of  the  solid  rock,  and  covered  with 
dripping  maiden's-hair.  All  the  rock  about  was 
like  flint,  and  worn  into  strange  shapes  by  the 
water. 

One  day  we  were  accompanied  quite  a  dis- 
tance through  the  woods  by  a  female  chief, 
Yaquina.  I  think  that  she  is  a  celebrated 
woman  in  Oregon,  and  that  Yaquina  Bay  was 
named  for  her.  She  was  mounted  on  a  little 
pony,  and  riding  along  in  a  free  and  joyous 
way,  looking  about  at  the  green  leaves  and  the 
sunshine.  I  thought  of  Victoria  with  her  heavy 
crown,  that  gives  her  the  sick  headache,  and 
wondered  how  she  would  like  to  exchange 
with  her. 


GENIAL   DWELLERS  IN  THE    WOODS.        175 


We  were  quite  interested  in  some  of  the  peo- 
ple we  saw,  one  of  tliem  especially,  —  a  man 
whose  house  had  no  windows.  We  felt  at  first 
as  if  we  could  not  stop  with  him ;  but  he  came 
out  to  our  wagon,  looking  so  bright  and  clean, 
and  had  such  an  air  of  welcome  as  he  said, 
"  We  are  not  very  well  provided,  but  we  are 
very  accommodating,"  that  we  at  once  decided 
to  stop,  particularly  as  the  driver  said  the 
horses  could  not  possibly  go  enough  farther  to 
get  to  any  better  place  that  night.  He  ushered 
us  in  very  hospitably,  and  looking  round  tlie 
room  —  the  chairs  being  rather  scarce  —  said, 
"There  are  plenty  of  seats  —  on  the  floor."  I 
saw  some  books  on  a  shelf,  and,  going  to  look  at 
them,  found  "  Mill's  Logic,"  and  "  Tyndall  on 
Sound,"  and  several  others,  scientific  and  his- 
torical. We  found  him,  as  he  said  we  should, 
eager  to  make  us  comfortable.  He  noticed  that 
the  baby  did  not  look  well,  and  went  out  into 
the  woods,  and  cut  down  a  little  tree  that  he 
said  would  do  her  good,  and  urged  us  to  take  it 
with  us.  He  said  that  he  was  generally  called 
in  by  his  neighbors,  in  case  of  sickness  or  acci- 
dent. He  had  learned  to  help  himself  in  most 
ways,  as  he  came  there  originally  with,  only  fifty 
cents  in  his  pocket. 

Another  old  man,  at  the  next  stopping-place, 


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17G 


GENIAL  DWELLERS  IN  THE    WOODS. 


made  a  beautiful  picture,  as  he  sat  inside  his 
oj)en  door,  in  a  great,  rough,  home-made  arm- 
chair, with  a  bhick  bear-skiii  for  a  pillow,^ — a 
large,  strong  man,  with  long,  shining,  silver 
Jjair.  We  were  very  much  pleased  to  find  tliat 
we  were  to  spend  the  night  tliere,  he  loolvcd  so 
interesting.  All  his  talk  was  about  fights  with 
wild  beasts  and  Indians,  and  cutting  down  the 
big  trees,  and  making  the  terrible  roads  we  had 
been  over.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  refinement 
and  gentleness,  too,  about  him.  He  had  in  his 
arms  a  dear  little  cliild.  He  had  adopted  her, 
he  said,  because  his  were  all  gr  wn  up.  She 
seemed  like  a  soft  little  bird,  so  timid  and 
clinging. 

Wlien  we  came  to  see  our  accommodations, 
we  were  deliglited  to  find  every  thi  ig  so  clean 
and  agreeable.  We  expressed  our  pleasure  to 
him,  and  he  said,  "  Yes ;  a  woman,  I  think,  will 
go  a  mile  or  two  farther  for  a  clean  sheet;  and 
even  a  man  does  not  altogether  like  to  be  tucked 
into  bed  with  a  stranger ; "  which  suggests  what 
the  customs  are  there. 

Dec.  20,  1873. 

We  were  startled  to  learn,  a  few  days  since, 
that  one  of  our  neighbors  had  been  found  dead, 
— a  man  about  whom  there  had  always  been  a 


OUR    UNKNOWN  NEIGHBOR. 


177 


good  deal  of  mysterj  in  the  village.  He  lived 
alone,  and  never  spoke  of  any  relations  or 
friends.  He  was  a  man  of  very  courteous  man- 
ners, but  on  this  point  he  would  allow  no  ques- 
tions. There  was  no  one  to  notifv  of  his  death, 
and  nobody  appeared  to  claim  his  property. 

The  first  time  we  ever  saw  him,  he  was  riding 
in  the  woods,  on  a  handsome  horse,  with  a 
bright  scarlet  blanket.  He  looked  so  pictur- 
esque, and  there  was  so  much  grace  and  dignity 
about  him,  that  I  feH  as  if  he  did  not  belong 
anywhere  about  here.  It  seemed  as  if  he  might 
have  come  riding  out  of  some  foreign  land,  or 
some  distant  age,  —  like  a  knight  going  to  a 
tournament. 

When  we  came  to  know  him,  we  could  not 
help  wondering  what  could  induce  him  to  live 
here.  He  was  thought  to  be  Southern,  and  it 
was  generally  supposed  that  some  difficulties 
arising  at  the  time  of  the  war  had  brought  him 
here.  He  seemed  disposed  to  make  the  best  of 
our  dull  life,  and  alwa3'S  had  something  that 
interested  him  to  show  us,  —  a  new  flower,  or 
curious  shell,  or  some  pretty  Indian  child. 

The  last  time  we  saw  him  was  Saturday  night. 
It  must  have  been  only  a  few  hours  before  his 
death,  but  he  api)eared  in  his  usual  fine  health. 
The  next  we  knew  of  liim  was  Monday  niornhig, 


178 


WHALES. 


when  some  men  who  lived  near  us  said  that 
nothing  had  been  seen  cf  him  since  his  light 
disappeared  Saturday  night.  As  he  did  not 
open  his  house,  as  usual,  on  Sunday,  they  said 
to  themselves,  "He  does  not  like  to  be  dis- 
turbed," and  waited  till  Monday,  when  they 
went  to  the  window;  and  the  dog  inside,  hear- 
ing the  noise,  came  and  tore  down  the  curtain, 
and  went  back  and  sat  down  beside  his  master, 
where  he  lay  on  the  bed,  and  licked  his  face ; 
and  they  saw  that  he  was  dead.  He  was  tenderly 
buried  by  the  people  of  the  village,  without 
religious  ceremonies ;  but  they  dropped  little 
green  branches  into  his  grave  in  the  way  of  the 
Free  Masons.  I  was  surprised  at  the  delicacy  of 
feeling  sliown  in  regard  to  his  desire  to  remain 
unknown,  rude  curiosity  concerning  any  thing 
peculiar  being  everywhere  so  common. 

May  20, 1874. 

TIlis  afternoon  we  went  out  a  little  farther 
than  usual  in  our  boat,  and  saw  a  herd  of  whales 
in  the  distance,  —  great  free  creatures,  puffing 
and  snorting,  spouting  and  frolicking,  together. 
The  boatman  said  that  a  flap  from  one  of  their 
tails  would  send  our  boat  clean  out  of  the  water, 
and  turned  hastily  about,  hallooing  in  the  wild- 
est way,  to  keep  them  oft'. 


PET  SEAL  AND  EAGLE. 


179 


;o  reniuiu 


On  our  way  back  we  passed  some  clesertLMl 
buildings  on  a  sandy  point.  We  in([uii'ed  about 
them,  and  were  told  that  they  were  the  com- 
mencement of  a  city,  originally  called  '•"  New 
York ; "  but,  having  disappointed  its  founders, 
the  Indian  name  of  Alki  (By  and  By)  was  given 
to  it  in  derision. 

We  saw  in  the  woods  near  here  some  mag- 
nificent rhododendrons,  ten  or  twelve  feet  tall, 
covered  with  clusters  of  rose-colored  flowers. 

One  of  the  boatmen  has  a  pet  seal  that  we 
sometimes  take  out  in  the  boat  with  us.  We 
put  him  occasionally  into  the  water,  feeling  that 
he  must  be  longing  to  go  ;  but  he  always  stays 
near  the  boat,  and  comes  back  if  we  whistle  to 
him,  and  seems  quite  companionable.  Who 
would  have  believed  that  one  of  these  cold  sea 
creatures  could  ever  have  been  enticed  into  such 
intimacy?  Our  only  idea  of  them,  before  this 
experience,  had  been  of  a  little  dark  head  here 
and  there  in  the  distance,  in  the  midst  of  great 
wastes  of  water,  where,  as  Lowell  says,  they  — 

"  Solemnly  lift  their  faces  gray, 
Making  it  yet  more  lonely." 

One  of  the  captains  we  sailed  with  told  us 
that  he  had  at  one  time  a  gray  eagle  he  had 
tamed  when  young,  that  often  took  coasting- 


180 


A   MOURNING   MOTHER. 


voyages  with  liim,  leaving  the  vessel  occasion- 
ally, and  returning  to  it,  even  when  it  had  sailed 
many  miles;  never,  by  mistake,  alighting  on 
another  craft  instead  of  his.  Sometimes,  when 
out  on  a  voyage  to  San  Francisco,  it  would 
leave  the  vessel,  and  return  to  his  house  on 
Port  Discovery  Bay. 


I  ini 


Oct.  15, 1874. 

As  we  were  passing  along  near  the  shore  to- 
day, in  our  boat,  we  saw  an  Indian  wcmian  sit- 
ting alone  on  the  beach,  moaning,  and  dipping 
her  hands  continually  in  the  water.  Her  canoe 
was  drawn  up  beside  her.  We  stopped,  and 
asked  her  if  any  one  was  dead.  She  pointed 
to  a  square  box  ^  in  tlie  canoe,  and  said,  "  mika 
tenas^^  (my  child).  She  said,  afterwards,  that 
she  was  as  tall  as  I,  and  "  hi/as  closhe "  (so 
good) ! 

As  the  poor  Indian  mother  looked  round  at 
the  waves  and  the  sky  to  comfort  her,  I  thought, 
what  is  there,  after  all,  that  civilization  can 
offer,  beyond  wliat  is  given  by  Nature  alone,  to 
every  one  in  deepest  need? 

Yeomans,  our  old  Port  Angeles  friend,  called 
on  us  to-day.     Every  year  since  we  left  there, 

1  Tho  crouching  position,  the  favorite  one  of  the  Indians 
in  liXo,  is  preserved  by  tliem  iu  tlio  dispositiou  of  their  dead. 


VISIT  FROM   YE0MAN8. 


181 


casion- 
l  sailed 
iiig  on 
5,  when 
would 
use   on 


5, 1874. 

liore  to- 
ll an  sit- 
dipping 
er  canoe 
)ed,  and 
pointed 
,  '''•mika 
ds,  tliat 
he''   (so 


he  has  included  us  in  his  annual  visit  to  the 
Seattle  tribes.  Each  time  we  see  him  I  think 
must  be  tlie  last,  he  looks  so  very  old ;  but  every 
autumn  brings  him  back,  apparently  unchanged. 
He  seems  to  alter  as  slowly  as  the  old  firs  about 
him.  I  am  surprised  always  at  his  light  tread  ; 
he  bears  so  little  weight  on  his  feet,  but  glides 
along  as  if  he  were  still  in  the  woods,  and 
would  not  have  a  leaf  rustle. 


)und  at 
[hough  t, 
ion  can 
(lone,  to 

[,  called 
there. 


Indians 
iir  dead. 


XII. 


ruget  Sound  to  San  Francisco.  —A  Model  Vessel.  —  The  Cap- 
tain's Relation  to  his  Men.  —  Hough  "Water.  —  Beavity  of 
the  Sea.  —  Golden-Gate  Entrance.  —  San  Francisco  Slreets. 

—  Santa  Barbara.  —  Its  Invalids.  —  Our  Spanish  Neighbors. 

—  The  ^lountains  and  the  Bay.  —  Kelp.  —  Old  iNIission. — 
A  Simoom.  —  The  Channel  Islands.  —  A  New  Typo  of 
Chinamen.  — An  Old  Spanish  House. 


San  Francisco,  March  20, 1875. 

'TTT"E  reached  here  last  night,  after  a  rough 
»  V  voyage  from  Puget  Sound.  We  had  all 
our  worst  weather  first.  After  three  or  four 
days  came  a  bright,  clear  morning,  and  the  cap- 
tain called  me  on  deck  to  see  the  sunrise.  It 
was  all  so  changed,  so  beautiful,  so  joyous, — 
all  around  the  exquisite  green  light  flashing 
through  the  waves  as  they  broke  ;  and  as  far  off 
as  we  could  see,  in  every  direction,  the  water 
leaping  and  tossing  itself  into  spray.  A  strong 
wind  had  taken  the  vessel  in  charge  ;  and  it  flew 
swiftly  over  the  water,  with  no  changes  needed, 
no  altering  of  sails,  no  orders  of  any  kind,  and 
nobody  seemed  to  be  about.     The  captain  fixed 

182 


Sir 


A  MODEL    VESSEL. 


183 


lie  Cap- 
ant  y  of 
Streets, 
rrlihors. 
5sion .  — 
rypo  of 


1875. 

rougli 
\ad  all 
[1-  louv 
\\e  cai)- 
,e.     It 
.us,  — 
[asliing 
far  off 
water 
[strong 
lit  flew 
leecled, 
lI,  and 
fixed 


me  a  hammock  in  a  sail ;  and  I  lay  there  hour 
after  hour,  with  no  company  but  the  warm, 
bright  sunshine  straying  over  the  deck.  I  felt 
as  if  it  were  an  enchanted  vessel,  on  whicdi  I 
was  travelling  alone. 

Cleopatra's  barge  could  not  have  been  more 
carefully  kept.  When  the  men  came  out  to 
their  daily  work,  all  their  spare  moments  were 
spent  in  polishing  and  cleaning  every  little  tar- 
nished or  dingy  spot.  At  first  it  used  to  seem 
to  me  like  a  wanton  risk  of  life,  with  the  vessel 
rearing  and  plunging  so  that  we  did  not  dare 
to  stir  on  deck,  to  see  them  climb  the  tall  masts, 
and  cling  there,  scraping  and  oiling  tliem,  to 
bring  out  the  veining  of  the  wood.  Perhaps  it 
was  partly  as  a  discipline  in  steadiness,  that 
they  were  directed  to  do  it,  —  to  get  used  to 
working  at  such  a  height.  What  a  contrast  to 
the  tawdriness  of  the  steamers  we  had  been 
accustomed  to,  to  see  every  thing  about  us 
made  beautiful  by  exquisite  neatness,  done 
chiefly,  too,  for  their  own  eyes !  I  saw,  then, 
why  the  sunshine  was  so  pleasant  on  the  deck ; 
it  was  because  there  was  nothing  about  the 
vessel  out  of  keeping  with  the  pure  beauty  of 
nature.  I  felt  safer,  too,  to  think  how  all 
things,  small  and  great,  conformed  to  the  laws 
of  Heaven. 


r  U 


184      THE  CAPTAIN'S  RELATION   TO  IIIS  MEN. 

One  (lay  I  asked  tlie  captain  if  he  had  many 
of  the  same  men  with  him  as  on  the  last  voyage 
we  took  with  him.  I  remembered  his  pointing 
out  to  me  then  the  fair,  honest  face  of  a  young 
Swedish  sailor  at  the  wheel.  He  said  most  of 
his  men  made  many  voyages  with  him.  I  spoke 
of  another  captain,  who  told  us  his  men  were 
almost  all  new  every  time.  He  said  that  was 
generally  the  master's  fault ;  that  a  captain 
sliould  not  speak  to  his  men  just  the  same  in 
fair  weather  and  in  foul.  7  .ooked  with  inter- 
est, afterward,  to  see  his  man.igement  of  them, 
and  found  that,  wliile  every  thing  went  on 
smoothly,  he  took  pains  to  converse  with  them, 
and  to  become  somewhat  acquainted  with  each 
man.  Then,  in  emergencies,  his  brief,  clear  di- 
rections were  immediately  comprehended,  and 
promptly  obeyed.  I  began  to  understand  the 
secret  of  his  short  voyages  (for  his  vessel  had 
the  reputation  of  being  the  fastest  sailer  be- 
tween San  Francisco  and  the  Sound)  :  it  was 
partly  from  his  management  of  the  ship,  and 
partly  from  his  management  of  the  men. 

We  started  in  a  snow-storm,  and  at  first 
every  thing  seemed  to  be  against  us.  He  had 
told  us  that  March  was  not  generally  a  very 
quiet  month  on  the  water.  We  took  a  tug-boat 
to  tow  us  out  to  the  entrance  of  the  Straits ; 


THE  CAPTAIN'S   VIGILANCE. 


185 


i^i 


but,  as  the  weather  grew  continually  worse,  the 
steamer  was  obliged  to  leave  us,  with  wind 
dead  ahead,  and  against  that  we  had  to  beat 
out.  As  soon  as  we  had  made  Cape  Flattery, 
the  wind  changed,  and  became  what  would 
have  been  a  good  wind  for  getting  out,  but  was 
just  the  opposite  of  what  we  wanted  for  going 
down  the  coast.  These  reverses  the  captain 
received  with  unruffled  serenity;  although  he 
dearly  delights  in  his  quick  trips,  and  was 
ready  to  seize  with  alacilty  the  least  breath  in 
his  favor.  After  all,  he  made  one  of  his  best 
voyages,  by  the  help  of  the  strong,  steady  wind 
that  drove  him  on  at  the  last.  It  was  perhaps 
as  much,  however,  from  his  vigilance  in  watch- 
ing when  there  was  so  little  to  take  advantage 
of,  and  seizing  all  the  little  bits  of  help  it  was 
possible  to  get,  as  it  was  from  the  great  help 
of  that  powerful  wind;  for  other  vessels  that 
started  with  us,  and  even  days  before  us,  have 
not  come  in  yet,  and  they  all  had  the  great 
wind  alike. 

11 ventured  to  inquire  of  the  captain  one 

day,  when  we  were  beating  about  the  mouth  of 
the  Straits,  as  to  the  feasibility  of  going  into 
!Neeah  Bay,  while  it  was  yet  possible  to  do  so  ; 
but  the  captain  said  he  preferred  to  beat  about, 
and  then  he  was  ready  to  take  advantage  of 


186 


ROUGH   WATER. 


the  first  chance  in  his  favor,  which  he  might 
lose  if  he  were  in  shelter. 

One  day  it  was  more  than  I  could  enjoy. 
The  wind  roared  so  loud,  and  the  sound  of  the 
waves  was  so  heavy,  that  I  retreated  to  my 
berth,  and  lay  down ;  but  I  could  not  keep  my 
mind  off  the  thought  of  how  deep  the  water 
was  under  us.  After  a  while  I  went  on  deck 
and  sat  there  again,  and  the  vessel  began  to 
plunge  so  that  it  seemed  as  if  it  were  trying 
to  stand  upon  one  end.  I  felt  so  frightened  that 
I  thought  I  would  speak  to  the  captain,  and 
ask  him  if  he  ever  knew  a  lumber-vessel  to  tip 
over ;  and  if  I  dared  I  would  suggest  that  he 
should  carry  a  little  less  sail.  I  knew  that  he 
was  once  on  a  vessel  that  turned  bottom  up- 
ward in  the  Straits,  and  he  wiis  left  on  the  over- 
turned hull  for  three  days,  in  a  snow-storm,  be- 
fore help  came  to  him.  I  spoke  to  him,  and  he 
did  not  give  me  much  of  an  answer ;  but,  a  little 
while  after,  he  came  to  me,  and  said,  "  Are  you 
able  to  go  to  the  forward  part  of  the  ship  with 
me  ?  I  should  like  to  have  you,  if  you  can." 
So  he  helped  me  along  i:o  the  bow,  where  it 
seemed  almost  too  frightful  to  go,  and  said, 
*'  Kneel  down ; "  and  knelt  down  by  me,  and 
said,  "  Look  under  the  ship."  It  was  one  of  the 
most    beautiful  sights    I  ever  saw,  —  such  a 


BEAUTY   OF  THE  SEA. 


187 


heifflit  of  foam,  and  rainbows  over  it.  Tlio 
d;>rk  water  beside  it  seemed  to  be  full  of  little, 
sharp,  shining  needles.  I  suppose  it  wiis  mov- 
ing so  quickly  that  made  the  elongated  drops 
appear  so.  Then  he  took  me  to  the  other  side, 
that  was  in  shadow ;  and  there  the  water  was 
whirled  into  the  most  l^'O/atiful  shapes,  stand- 
ing out  distinct  from  each  <.- Jier,  from  the  swift- 
ness of  the  motion,  that  iield  them  poised,  like 
exqnisite  combination^  of  snowflakes,  only  more 
airy. 

Presently  he  said,  "  Men  don't  often  speak  of 
these  things  to  each  other,  ])ut  I  feel  the  beauty 
of  it.  Nights  when  the  vessel  is  moving  so 
fast,  I  come  and  watch  here  for  hours  and 
hours,  and  dream  over  it."  When  I  thought 
about  it  afterward,  I  wondered  how  he  could 
know  that  the  way  to  answer  my  fear  was  to 
show  me  what  was  so  beautiful.  I  was  not 
afraid  any  more,  whatever  the  vessel  did. 

Those  three  days  and  nights  of  lonely  watch- 
ing, floating  about  in  the  Straits,  must  liave 
been  a  great  experience  to  him,  and  made  him 
different  from  wh.at  he  would  otherwise  have 
been  ;  certainly  different  from  most  men. 

Before  sunrise,  yesterday  morning,  we  passed 
the  "  Seal  Rocks ; "  as  the  light  just  began  to 
reveal  a  little  of  the  dark,  dreamy  hills  on  each 


t     i;    'r. 


188 


GOLDEN-GATE  ENTRANCE. 


side  of  the  long,  beautiful  entrance  to  the  har- 
bor. A  flood  of  light  filled  it  as  we  entered, 
and  it  must  have  looked  just  as  it  did  when  it 
was  first  named  the  "  Golden  Gate."  All  along, 
for  miles,  the  water  throws  itself  up  into  the 
air,  and  falls  in  fountains  on  the  rocky  shore. 
I  cannot  conceive  of  a  more  beautiful  harbor 
in  the  world;  and,  as  we  were  tAvo  or  three 
hours  in  coming  from  the  sea  up  to  the  city,  we 
had  time  enough  to  enjoy  it. 

The  southern  headland  of  the  entrance  is 
Point  Lobos  (^Punta  de  los  Lobos,  Point  of 
Wolves)  ;  the  northern,  Point  Bonita  (Beauti- 
ful Point). 

March  25, 1875. 

We  could  never  have  stepped  out  of  our 
wilderness  into  a  stranger  city  than  this.  From 
the  variety  of  foreign  names  and  faces  tliit  I 
see  in  the  streets,  I  should  think  I  were  travel- 
ling over  the  whole  world.  On  one  side  of  us 
lives  a  Danish  family,  on  the  other  a  French. 
I  walk  along  and  look  up  at  the  signs,—. 
"  Scandinavian  Society  ;  "  "  Yang  Tzy  Associa* 
lion  of  Shanghae  ;  "  "  Nuevo  Continente  Restau- 
rant Mejicano  ;  "  "  Angelo  Beffa,  Helvetia  Ex- 
change," with  the  white  cross  and  plumed  hat 
of  Switzerland.  One  street  is  all  Chinese,  with 
shiny-haired  women,  and  little  mandarins  with 


SAN  FRANC/SCO  STREETS. 


189 


long  cues  of  braided  red  silk.  The  babies  seem 
to  be  dressed  in  imitation  of  the  idol  in  the 
temple ;  tlieir  tiglit  caps  have  the  same  tinsel 
and  trimmings,  and  the  resemblance  their  little 
dry  faces  bear  to  it  is  very  curious. 

Next  to  "Tung  Wo,"  "Sun  Loy,"  and 
"Kum  Lum,"  come  "  Witkowski,"  "Bukofski," 
"  Kowminski,"  —  who  keep  Russian  caviar,  etc. 
Some  day,  when  we  feel  a  little  tired  of  our  or- 
dinary food,  we  think  of  trying  the  caviar,  or 
perhaps  a  gelatinous  bird's  nest,  for  variety. 

Besides  the  ordinary  residents,  we  meet 
many  sailors  from  the  hundreds  of  vessels 
always  in  the  harbor,  —  Greeks,  Lascars,  Ma- 
lays, and  Kanakas.  Their  picturesque  costumes 
and  Oriental  faces  add  still  more  to  the  foreign 
look  of  the  place. 

In  the  midst  of  the  greatest  rush  and  confu- 
sion of  one  of  the  principal  business  streets, 
stands  a  man  with  an  electrical  machine,  bawl- 
ing in  stentorian  tones,  "  Nothing  like  it  to 
steady  the  nerves,  and  strengthen  the  heart," — 
ready,  for  a  small  fee,  to  administer  on  the  s])ot 
ii  current  of  greater  or  less  intensity  to  whoever 
may  desire  it.  The  contrast  is  most  ludicrous 
between  the  need  that  undoubtedlv  exists  for 
somf  such  quieting  iniluence,  and  the  utter  in- 
efficacy  of  it,  if  applied,  under  such  circum- 
tances. 


'I '  'i 


m\'"  I    V    : 


190 


SANTA   BARBARA. 


Oct.  20, 1875. 

We  have  just  returned  from  Santa  Barbara. 
How  buoyant  the  ah'  seems,  and  how  brisk  the 
people,  after  our  hinguid,  dreamy  life  there  !  I, 
who  went  there  in  robust  health,  spent  six 
montlis  in  bed,  for  no  other  reason,  that  I  could 
understand,  than  the  influence  of  the  climate. 
Perhaps,  on  homoeopathic  principles,  as  Santa 
Barbara  makes  sick  people  well,  it  makes  well 
people  sick.  A  physician  that  I  have  seen  since 
coming  here  tells  me  that  he  went  there  him- 
self for  his  own  health,  and  was  so  much  affect- 
ed by  the  general  atmosphere  of  sickness,  that 
he  was  obliged  to  return.  It  is  a  depressing 
sight,  certainly,  to  see  so  many  feeble,  consump- 
tive-looking people  about,  as  we  did  there. 
Wliere  we  lived  I  think  it  was  also  malarious, 
from  the  estero  that  winds  like  a  snake  about 
the  lowlands  near  the  bay.  The  favorite  part 
of  the  city  is  near  the  foot-hills.  It  is  probably 
more  healthful  there,  but  we  cannot  live  with- 
out seeing  at  least  one  little  silver  line  of  the 
sea.  So  we  took  up  our  abode  in  the  midst  of 
the  Spanish  population,  near  the  water. 

We  found  it  very  difficult  to  get  any  one  to 
help  us  in  our  work,  altliough  we  had  supposed 
that  in  the  midst  of  poor  people  we  should  be 
favorably  situated  in  that  respect.     We   were 


OUR  SPANISH  NEIGHBORS. 


191 


told,  however,  that  the  true  Castilian,  no  matter 
how  poor,  never  works ;  tliat  we  might  perhaps 
find  some  one  anions^  the  Mexicans  to  assist  us. 
Our  neighbors  were  quite  interesting  to 
watch,  and  we  were  pleased  with  the  simplicity 
of  their  lives.  They  had  no  apparent  means  of 
support,  unless  it  might  be  lassoing  and  taming 
some  wild  mustangs,  wliich  they  were  some- 
times engaged  in  doing ;  but  tliis  seemed  to  be 
more  of  a  recreation  tlian  a  business  with  tliem. 
They  were  never  harassed  nor  hurried  about 
any  thing.  They  lived  mostly  outside  their 
little  dark  dwelling,  only  seeking  it  at  noon  for 
a  siesta.  In  the  morning  they  placed  a  mat 
under  the  trees,  and  put  the  babies  down  naked 
to  play  on  it,  shaking  down  the  leaves  for  play- 
tliings.  Sometimes  they  cut  a  great  piece  of 
meat  into  narrow  strips,  and  hung  it  all  over 
our  fence  to  dry.  This  dried  meat,  and  melons, 
constituted  a  large  part  of  their  food.  The  old 
mother  was  called  Gracia,  but  she  could  never 
in  her  youtli  have  been  more  graceful  than  now. 
She  was  as  picturesque  still  as  she  could  ever 
have  been,  and  perfectly  erect.  She  wore  a, 
little  black  cap,  like  a  priest's  cap,  on  tlie  top 
of  her  head,  and  her  long  gray  hair  floated  out 
from  it  over  her  shoulders;  and,  with  her  black 
mantle  thrown  as  gracefully  about  her  as  any 


IHt^ti 


192 


OUR  SPANISH  NEIGHBORS. 


young  person  could  have  worn  it,  we  used  to 
see  her  stiirting  out  every  nioruing  to  enjoy 
lierseif  abroad.  She  appeared  one  morning  at 
our  window,  before  we  were  up,  with  her  arms 
full  of  roses  covered  with  dew,  eager  to  give 
them  to  us  while  thev  were  so  fresh. 

We  noticed  her  sometimes  out  in  the  yard, 
preparing  some  of  the  famil}^  food,  by  the  aid 
of  a  curious  flat  stone  supported  on  tliree  legs, 
and  a  stone  pestle  or  roller,  —  a  very  primitive 
arrangement.  Kneeling  down  upon  the  ground, 
she  placed  her  corn,  or  Chili  peppers  —  or  wliat- 
e  ver  article  she  wished  to  grind  —  upon  the  stone ; 
and,  taking  the  hand-stone,  she  rolled  it  vigor- 
ously back  ,  nd  forth  over  the  flat  surface, 
crushing  up  the  material,  which  fell  off  at  the 
lower  end  into  a  dish  below.  We  saw  her 
making  tomak\%  composed  of  bruised  green 
corn,  —  crushed  by  the  process  just  described, 
—  mixed  with  chopped  meat,  and  seasoned  with 
Cliili  peppers  or  otlier  pungent  flavoring,  and 
made  up  into  slender  rolls,  each  enveloped  in 
green-corn  leaves,  tied  at  the  ends,  find  baked 
in  the  ashes,  —  resulting  in  a  very  savory  article 
of  food. 

Our  only  New-England  acquaintances  at 
Santa  Barbara  had  evidently  modified  very 
much  their  ideas   of  living.     We  found  them 


THE  MOUNTAINS    ixrn    ^ 

yiAINS  AND   THE  BAY.  I93 

MoTit:  zri  t  s  ""1  '-'"''^  ^''- 

"""""tains  are  „ot  ver^  1  •       f   ""   '"''■     1'''e 
gi^es  them  a  beautZ!,       .v"^'  ''""'  '^^'"^^ 

V-.  ear,,  onr:;;!^^ ;  ':7^^  f  *  «-'  «»-'o.. 

fgle  %  over],ea,l,  back  to  ),     ,      ^'''""^  ^'■"^ 
''"■■k  recesses.     So,  ,e  of  ,,  ""  '■"  ""'i'' 

>vith  grape-vines  r,°    "'^«'"I"'«  ''"■e  covered 

"P'"t,/ei.C::    rsI^tf'r'T-^^'- 
Jou.ses  of  the  people  who  keep  t  !",    "'"^  "''"'' 
ll'eylive  up  so  hio-l,  ),„„      '^  *f  l>ee-ranehes. 
longer  there     Th    int^    '"';  *'"'  ''"''''^  '««' 
-•  one  side  of  tie rr^^^^ 
'"-''■'cIi.    An  immense  bl^nf     ,       ''*'""'  ■"«  "'« 
">»««  and  n,iles  a      „  tie  ";  '^'''""""°"  ''- 

"^-uUifn,  figures,  r^^^^'I'z''"^'"^  «>«  '"ost 
O"  the  water, -so  ":J,        ""'"^  ''^  ''  Ao^'ts 
time  so  graceftd.     Itf  "f  "'  ""k  "*  "''^   ■'-"« 
of  pale  yellow  and  broV„      T?  '^'■'""''"'  ^''-'^ 
sometimes  drive  it  slmZ       ,      '''""""  ""^  S"'es 
tities  that  vesse  s  a    T    "1/"  ^""''  ^'"^"t  V-an- 
sWe  of  it.  ''''  ^°"'I"-']led  to  anclior  out- 

'"'"^  ^^  -  oW  Mission  there,  built  i„  the 


|!    ■■  I'li 


194 


OZI>  MISSION.— A  SIMOOM. 


Moorish  style,  where  all  visitors  are  hospitably- 
received  by  the  Franciscan  friars  in  charge. 
Tliis  mission  like  all  those  we  have  seen,  has 
a  choice  situation,  sheltered  from  wind,  and 
with  good  soil  about  it.  The  old  monks  knew 
how  to  make  themselves  comfortable.  Their 
cattle  roamed  over  boundless  pastures,  herded 
by  mounted  vaqueros  ;  their  grain-fields  ripened 
under  cloudless  skies  ;  their  olive  -  orchards, 
carefully  watered  and  tended  by  their  Indian 
subjects,  yielded  rich  returns. 

We  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  gentleman 
from  Morocco,  who  says  that  the  climate  there 
as  almost  the  same  as  that  of  Santa  Barbara.  I 
suppose  the  simoom  we  had  there  in  the  summer 
was  a  specimen  of  it.  A  fierce.,  hot  wind  blew 
from  the  Mojave  desert.  There  was  no  possi- 
bility of  comfort  in  the  house,  nor  out  of  it. 
We  could  escape  the  storm  of  wind  and  dust 
by  going  in,  but  there  was  still  tlie  choking 
feeling  of  the  air.  The  residents  of  the  place 
could  say  nothing  in  defence  of  it, — only  that 
it  did  not  occur  often. 

We  are  told  that  on  the  17th  of  June,  1859, 
there  was  much  more  of  a  genuine  simoom.  So 
hot  a  blast  of  air  swept  over  the  town  as  to  fill  the 
people  with  terror.  This  burning  wind  raised 
dense  clouds  of  fine  dust.     Birds  dropped  dead 


THE  MESA.  —  CHANNEL   ISLANDS. 


195 


from  the  trees.  The  people  shut  themselves 
up  in  their  thick  adobe  houses.  The  mer- 
cury rapidly  rose  to  133  degrees,  and  continued 
so  for  three  hours.  Trees  were  blighted,  and 
gardens  ruined. 

Sailors  approaching  the  coast  in  a  fog  can 
recognize  the  Santa  Barbara  Channel  by  the 
smell  of  bitumen  which  floats  on  tlie  water. 
Some  of  the  old  navigators  thought  their  ves- 
sels were  on  fire  when  they  noticed  it.  It  gives 
a  luminous  appearance  to  the  water  at  night. 

On  one  side  of  Santa  Barbara  is  a  great 
table-land,  called  the  Mesa,  where  there  is  al- 
ways a  sea-breeze  that  blows  across  fields  of 
grain  and  fragrant  grass.  That  would  be  a 
beautiful  place  to  live,  but  there  is  no  water. 
The  experiment  of  artesian  wells  is  about 
being  tried. 

From  the  Mesa  we  looked  off  to  the  channel 
islands,  —  Saata  Cruz,  Santa  Rosa,  San  Miguel, 
and  Anacapa,  —  bold,  rocky,  and  picturesque. 
Anacapa  was  formerly  a  great  resort  for  the 
seal  and  otter ;  and  the  natives  from  Alaska 
came  down  to  hunt  them,  and  collected  large 
quantities  of  their  valuable  skins.  The  island 
is  of  sandstone,  all  honeycombed  with  cavities 
of  different  sizes,  sometimes  making  beauti- 
ful arches.     There  is  no  water  on  this  island, 


ifl 


196 


SANTA  BARBARA   CLIMATE. 


and  only  cuctiis  and  coarse  grass  grow  there. 
Others  of  the  group  have  wood  and  water,  and 
settlements  of  fishermen.  On  some  of  tliem, 
interesting  historical  relics  have  heen  discovered, 
—  supposed  to  be  the  remains  of  a  temple  to 
the  sun,  with  idols  and  images.  There  are  also 
beautiful  fossils  and  corals  and  r'  alone  shells. 

It  was  hard  to  make  up  our  linds  to  leave 
so  lovely  a  place  ;  but  as  I  looked  back,  the  last 
morning,  to  fix  the  picture  of  it  in  my  mind,  I 
saw  the  little  white  clouds  that  come  before  the 
hot  wind,  rising  above  the  mountains,  and  was 
glad  that  we  were  going.  Two  immense  col- 
umns of  smoke  rose  out  of  the  canons,  and 
stood  over  the  place,  like  genii.  In  the  dry 
weather  it  seems  that  the  mountains  are  almost 
always  on  fire,  which  modifies  what  is  called 
the  natural  climate  of  Santa  Barbara,  so  as  to 
make  it  very  uncomfortable.  Its  admirers  must 
come  from  some  worse  place,  —  probably  often 
from  the  interior ;  no  one  from  Puget  Sound 
ever  praises  it.  We  met  several  families  from 
that  regi(ni ;  and  they  were  all  anxious  to  get 
back  to  the  clear  mountain  atmosphere  of  their 
northern  climate,  which  is  as  equable  as  that  of 
Santa  Barbara,  though  far  different  in  character. 

We  saw  there  some  Chinese  quite  unlike  any 
that  we  have  met  before.     We  have  heard  that 


A   NEW   TYPE   OF  CHINAMEN. 


197 


most  of  those  who  come  to  the  Pacific  Coast 
are  of  an  inferior  kind,  chiefly  Tartars.  Tliere 
we  saw  some  quite  liandsome  ones,  who  had 
more  of  an  Arab  look,  and  had  also  elegant 
manners,  —  one,  especially,  who  had  a  little 
oilice  near  us.  On  the  birthday  of  the  Emperor 
of  China,  his  room  was  ornamented  with  a 
picture  of  Confucius,  before  which  he  burned 
scented  wood ;  and  han^j;ing  over  it  was  an  air- 
castle,  with  the  motto,  "  God  is  Love." 

We  visited  one  day  an  interesting-looking 
old  house,  near  our  quarter  of  the  town,  to  see 
if  we  could  live  in  it.  It  was  one  of  the  finest 
there  before  the  place  became  Americanized, 
and  belonged  to  an  old  Spanish  don.  It  stands 
in  the  centre  of  spacious  and  beautiful  grounds, 
and  the  avenue  leading  to  it  is  bordered  with 
olive-trees,  which  were  in  bloom.  There  was 
a  curious,  delicate  fragrance  in  the  air,  quite 
new  to  me,  which  I  attributed  to  them.  It  was 
as  different  from  all  other  odors,  as  their  color 
is  from  that  of  all  other  trees.  They  have  a 
little  greenish  blossom,  something  like  a  daphne, 
and  the  foliage  is  of  beautiful  shades  of  gray- 
green,  from  an  almost  black  to  light  silvery 
color.  They  seem  like  old  Spaniards  them- 
selves, they  have  such  an  ancient,  reserved  look. 
Two  magnificent  pepper-trees,  with  their  light, 


11: 


i::( 


I*  ■:." 


198 


AN  OLD  SPANISH  HOUSE. 


graceful  foliage  trailing  from  the  branches,  stand 
near  the  door.  The  house  is  shut  in  with  dark 
heavy  porches  on  all  sides,  and  covered  with 
vines.  The  windows  are  in  such  deep  recesses, 
owing  to  the  great  thickness  of  the  walls  of  the 
house,  that  the  rooms  were  but  dimly  liglited,  al- 
tlibugh  it  was  early  in  the  afternoon.  Some  of 
the  windows  are  of  stained  glass,  and  others 
of  ground  glass,  to  lessen  the  light  still  more. 
It  is  an  adobe  house  ;  and  the  walls  are  so  damp 
that  I  gave  up  all  idea  of  living  in  it,  as  soon 
as  I  laid  my  hand  on  them.  The  Spaniards,  I 
see,  all  build  their  houses  on  a  plan  that  origi- 
nated in  a  hot  country,  where  tke  idea  of  com- 
fort was  all  of  cc  olness  and  shade.  This  house, 
and  the  one  opposite  where  we  lived,  are  cov- 
ered with  passion-flowers.  Near  the  latter  are 
two  dark  evergreen-trees,  —  the  Santa  Cruz 
spruce,  —  trimmed  so  as  to  be  very  stiff  and 
straight,  standing  like  dark  wardens  before 
the  door.  There  is  a  hedge  of  pomegranate, 
with  its  flame-like  flowers,  which  seem  to  be 
filled  with  light.  The  pepper-tree  abounds  in 
Santa  Barbara,  and  the  eucalyptus  is  being 
planted  a  good  deal.  It  has  a  special  power  to 
absorb  malaria  from  tlie  air,  and  makes  un- 
healthy places  wholesome. 


XIII. 


Our  Aerie.  —The  Bay  and  the  Ililla.  —  The  Little  Gnome.  — 
Earthquake.  —  Temporary  Residents.  —  The  Trade-Wind. 

—  Seal-Roclcs.  —  Farallon  Lslands.  —  Exhilarating  Air.  — 
Approach  of  Summer.  —  Cciutcnnial  Procession.  —  Suicides. 

—  Mission  Dolores.  —  Father  Pedro  Font  and  his  Expedi- 
tion. —  The  Mission  Indians.  —  Chinese  Feast  of  the  Dead. 

—  Curious  Weather. 

San  Francisco,  Oct.  30, 1875. 

WE  have  found  a  magnificent  situation. 
Our  little  house  is  perched  on  such  a 
height,  that  every  one  wonders  how  we  ever 
discovered  it.  The  site  of  the  city  was  origi- 
nally a  collection  of  immense  sandhills,  on  the 
sides  and  tops  of  which  the  houses  were  built, 
many  of  them  before  the  streets  were  laid  out 
and  graded.  When  the  grades  were  finally  de- 
termined, and  the  hills  cut  through,  —  as  some 
of  them  were,  —  houses  were  often  left  perched 
far  above,  on  the  edge  of  a  cliff,  and  almost  as 
inaccessible  as  a  feudal  castle.  I  feel  as  if 
ours  might  be  an  eagle's  nest,  and  enjoy  the 
wildness    and    solitude    of    it.     So    does  our 


200 


THE  BAY  AND  THE  HILLS. 


Scotch  shepherd  dog,  who  has  been  used  to 
lonely  phices.  Sometimes,  just  as  the  sun  is 
rising,  wo  see  liim  sitting  out  on  the  sandliills, 
h)okiiig  about  with  sucli  a  contented  expres- 
sion tliat  it  seems  as  if  he  smiled.  He  opens 
his  mouth  to  drink  in  the  wind,  as  if  it  were  a 
delicious  draught  to  him. 

The  hills  are  covered  witli  sage-brush,  full  of 
little  twittering  birds.  My  bed  is  between 
two  windows,  and  they  fly  across  from  one  to 
the  other,  without  minding  me  at  all.  Oppo- 
site is  Alcatraz,  a  fortified  island,  but  very 
peaceful-looking,  the  waves  breaking  softly  all 
around  it.  It  has  still  the  Spanish  name  of  the 
white  pelicans  with  which  it  used  to  be  cov- 
ered. The  commander  of  the  fort  died  since 
we  came  here,  and  was  carried  across  the  water, 
with  music,  to  Angel  Island,  to  be  buried. 

Across  the  bay  is  a  low  line  of  hills,  with 
softly  rounded  outlines.  They  are  of  pale  rus- 
set color,  from  the  red  earth,  and  thin,  dried 
grass,  that  covers  them.  Farther  to  the  north 
is  Mount  Tamalpias,  with  sharper  outlines. 


Nov.  8, 1875. 

The  China  boys  generally  refuse  to  come  out 
here  to  live  with  us,  saying  it  is  "  too  far,  too 
far."     The  unsettled  appearance  of  this  part  of 


EARTHQUAKE. 


201 


the  city  docs  not  please  them.     To-chiy  we  suc- 


ceeded ill  securing  a  small  one.  lie  is  a  curi- 
ous-looking little  creature,  with  a  high  pointed 
liead,  stiff,  blaek  hair,  and  small,  sparkling  ryes 
He  seems  like  a  little  gnome,  and  miglit  havo 
been  living  in  the  buwels  of  the  earth,  in  mines 
and  caverns,  -with  black  coal  and  bright  jewels 
about  him.  Before  he  would  agree  to  come,  he 
said  he  must  go  and  consult  the  idol  in  tho 
temple.  lie  burned  little  fragrant  sticks  before 
him ;  but  how  he  divined  wh.it  his  pleasure 
miuht  be,  I  could  not  tell. 

We  hesitated  about  taking  him,  considering 
his  very  stunted  appearance  ;  but  ho  said,  "  Me 
heap  smart,"  and  that  settled  it.  "  Heap  "  must 
be  a  word  the  Chinese  have  picked  up  at  the 
mines.  It  is  in  constant  requisition  in  any 
attempt  to  converse  with  them. 

Last  night  we  had  a  heavy  shock  of  earth- 
quake. How  different  it  is  from  merely  reading 
that  the  crust  of  the  earth  is  thin,  and  that 
there  is  fire  under  it,  to  feel  it  tremble  under 
your  feet !  I  was  glad  to  have  one  thing  more 
made  real  to  me,  that  before  meant  nothing.  It 
was  a  strange,  deep  trembling,  as  if  every  thing 
were  sliding  away  from  us. 


r  11 


I 

IS   ■-: 


202 


TEMPORARY  RESIDENTS. 


Nov.  18, 1875. 

It  gives  one  a  lonesome  feeling  to  see  how 
many  people  here  lead  unsettled  lives,  looking 
upon  some  other  place  as  their  home.  Even 
the  children,  hearing  so  much  talk  about  the 
East,  seem  to  have  an  idea  that  they  really 
belong  somewhere  else.  One  of  our  little  ncigli- 
bors  said  to  me,  "  I  have  never  been  home ; " 
although  she,  and  all  her  grown-up  brothers  and 
sisters,  were  born  and  brought  up  here.  Many 
of  the  customs  of  the  place  are  adapted  to  a 
temporary  way  of  living.  In  mosc  parts  of  tlie 
city,  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  street  without 
signs  of  *'  Furnished  rooms  to  let."  Besides  in- 
numerable restaurants,  a  flying  kitchen  travels 
aboiit,  with  every  thing  cooking  as  it  goes  along, 
and  clean-looking  men,  with  white  aprons,  to 
serve  the  food ;  one  ringing  a  bell,  and  looking 
out  in  every  direction,  to  see  what  is  wanted. 

The  numerous  windmills,  for  raising  water, 
give  the  city  a  lively  look.  The  wind  keeps 
them  always  in  motion.  The  constant  whirring 
of  the  wheels,  and  the  general  breezy  look  of 
things,  distingnish  this  place  from  all  others 
that  I  have  seen.  Sir  Francis  Drake,  entering 
the  bay  nearly  three  hundred  years  ago,  refers, 
with  great  delight,  to  "a  franke  wind,"  that 
took  him  "  into  a  safe  and  good  baye."     There 


SEAL-ROCKS, 


203 


was,  for  a  long  time,  some  doubt  as  to  wliich 
of  several  ports  he  made.  I  think  that  mention 
01  the  wind  settles  it.  The  identical  wind  hus 
been  blowing  with  undiminished  vigor  ever 
since.  In  summer  (the  time  he  was  here), 
it  will  carry  a  vessel  in  against  the  strongest 
tide. 

The  city  is  built  mostly  of  wood.  The  ab- 
sence of  foliage,  and  the  neutral  color  of  the 
houses,  give  the  streets  a  dull  gray  look,  here 
and  there  redeemed  by  the  scarlet  geranium, 
which,  if  not  a  native,  is  most  thoroughly  natu- 
ralized, —  it  grows  so  sturdily,  even  in  the 
poorest  yards. 

April  30, 1876. 

We  had  a  long  ride  out  to  the  Seal-Rocks, 
past  great  wavy  hills,  with  patches  of  gold, 
brighter  than  the  dandelions  and  buttercups  are 
at  home.  This  was  the  eschcholtzia,  or  Cali- 
forniu.  poppy.  Occasionally  we  passed  great 
tracts  of  lupine.  The  lowland  was  a  sea  of  blue 
iris. 

Suddenly,  as  we  surmounted  a  height,  the 
ocean  rolled  in  before  us,  line  after  line  of 
breakers,  on  a  broad  beach.  When  we  reached 
Point  Lobos  we  saw  the  two  great  rocks,  far 
out  in  the  water,  covered  with  brown  seals  that 
hiy  in  the  sun  like  flocks  of  sheep,  and  little 


204 


FARALLON  ISLANDS. 


slippery,  shining  ones  all  the  time  crawling  up 
out  of  the  water,  and  dropping  back  again.  As 
the  vessels  pass  out  of  the  bay,  they  go  near 
enough  to  hear  them  bark ;  but  iiouiing  fright- 
ens tliem  away,  nor  discomposes  them  in  the 
least,  although  they  are  only  a  few  miles  from 
the  city,  and  have  a  great  many  visitors.  They 
are  protected  by  law  from  molestation. 

We  looked  off  to  the  Farallon  Islands,  which 
are  one  of  the  chief  landmarks  for  vessels  ap- 
proaching the  Golden  Gate.  There  was  formerly 
a  settlement  of  Russians  there,  who  hunted  the 
seal  and  the  otter.  These  islands  are  still  a 
great  resort  for  seals,  also  for  comorants  and 
sea-gulls ;  and  the  large  speckled  eggs  of  the 
birds  are  gathered  in  quan  xties,  and  brought 
to  the  San  Francisco  market  for  sale.  They 
were  called  by  the  Spaniards  '•'-  Farallons  de  los 
Frayles  "  (Islands  of  the  Friars), /ar«Z^o/i  being 
a  sharp-pointed  island. 

There  is  a  marvellous  exhilaration  in  the  air. 
The  enthusiastic  Bayard  Taylor  said,  that,  in 
in  his  first  drive  round  the  bay,  he  felt  like 
Julius  Crpsar,  IMilo  of  Crotana,  o-nd  Gen.  Jack- 
son, rolled  into  one.  It  is  an  acknowledged 
fact,  that  both  men  and  animals  can  work  harder 
and  longer  here,  without  apparent  injury  or 
fatigue,  than  anywhere  on  the  Eastern  coast. 


Arr ROACH   OF  SUMMER. 


205 


We  have  lieurcl  it  suggested  tliat  tlie  alniiidciiit 
aetiiiic  niys  in  the  dry,  cluudless  atnios[)here 
are  the  eaiise  of  this  iiivigoratiuii,  and  also  of 
the  unusual  brilliancy  of  the  llovvers. 

June  1, 187G. 

The  only  way  in  which  we  know  that  sum- 
mer is  coming  is  by  the  mure  chilling  winds, 
the  increased  dust,  the  tawn}-  color  of  the  hills, 
and  the  general  dying  look  of  things.  Every 
thing  is  bare,  sunny,  and  sandy. 

We  are  surrounded  with  great  wastes  of 
sand,  which  the  wind  drives  against  the  house, 
so  that  it  seems  always  like  a  storm.  Some- 
times, when  I  sit  at  work  at  the  window,  a 
gopher  comes  out  of  the  sandhill,  and  sits 
down  outside  it.  His  company  makes  me  feel 
still  more  remote  from  all  civilized  things. 


July  4,  187G. 

We  had  a  splendid  Centennial  process^'on. 
Things  that  we  imitate  at  home  are  all  real  here. 
Instead  of  having  our  own  people  dressed  up 
in  foreign  costume,  we  have  Italians,  French, 
Swiss,  Russians,  Germans,  Chinese,  Turks,  etc., 
all  ready  for  any  occasion.  The  newspapers 
mentioned  as  a  remarkable  fact,  that  tiiere 
were  no  suicides  for  a  week  beforehand;  every 


206 


CENTENNIAL  FliOCESSION. 


one  seemed  to  have  something  to  look  forward 
to. 

The  night  before  the  celebration,  the  French 
residents  built  up  a  great  arch,  as  high  as  the 
highest  buildings,  with  fine  decorations,  for  the 
procession  to  pass  under.  Some  doubt  was  ex- 
pressed about  the  Germans  liking  to  pass  be- 
neath the  French  arch  ;  so  three  thousand  Ger- 
mans, to  show  their  good-will,  went  and  sung 
the  Marseillaise  under  it. 

The  Jews  have  the  handsomest  churcli  in 
San  Francisco,  which  they  decorated  with  the 
greatest  enthusiasm,  and  had  Centennial  ser- 
vices, in  which  they  said  that  they,  of  all  people 
in  the  world,  ought  to  appreciate  America,  as, 
before  they  came  here,  they  were  outcasts  every- 
where, while  hare  they  were  unmolested  and 
prosperous. 

I  liked  best  in  the  procession  the  Highland- 
ers, who  were  real  Scotchmen,  in  plaids,  and 
bonnets  with  eagle  feathers.  Every  one  had  a 
claymore  by  his  side,  and  a  thistle  on  his  breast ; 
and  there  were  pipers  playing  on  bagpipes  to 
lead  them. 

There  are  a  great  many  Germans  in  San 
Francisco,  and  the  brewers  had  a  car  dressed 
with  yellow  barley  and  other  ripe  grains.  The 
great  fat  men  looked  so  full  of  enjoyment,  it 


SUICIDES. 


207 


was  really  picturesque  to  see  them,  under  the 
nodding  grain.  For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I 
appreciated  them,  as  I  saw  how  poorly  a  thin 
man  would  convey  the  idea  of  comfort.  There 
are  a  good  many  Italian  fishermen  here  too. 
They  are  always  just  fit  for  processions,  without 
any  alteration  whatever ;  their  pretty  green 
boat  "  Venezia,"  and  their  Captain  Cccsar  Celso 
Morena,  seem  made  for  it.  They  had  Roman 
guards,  in  golden  scale  armor.  The  California 
Jaegers  with  their  wild  brown  faces,  that 
seemed  to  transport  us  to  the  great  hot  plains 
where  they  herd  and  lasso  the  half-tamed  ani- 
mals, walked  too  in  the  procession  ;  and  the 
baby  camel,  born  lately  in  San  Francisco,  a 
great  pet.  They  were  led  by  the  silver  cor- 
net band,  whose  music  was  exquisitely  clear 
and  sweet. 

Aua.  2, 1870. 
In  this  homeless  city,  built  upon  sandhills, 
and  continuall}^  desolated  by  winds,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  the  blue  bay  looks  attractive,  espe- 
cially to  any  one  thrust  aside  in  the  continual 
vicissitudes  of  this  unsettled  life.  The  first 
news  we  heard,  on  our  return  from  Santa  Bar- 
bara, was  that  Ralston,  the  great  banker,  and 
one  of  the  chief  favorites  in  sccial  life,  had 
sought   the    calm  of    its  still  dci)ths  as  better 


f  i 


208 


SUICIDES. 


than  mnj  thing  life  could  offer.  IIow  serenely 
the  water  lay  in  the  sunshine,  as  we  looked  at 
it,  hearing  this  news,  which  had  stirred  the  city 
to  its  utmost !  Here  all  secrets  are  guarded,  all 
perplexities  end.  The  passion  for  suicide  seeks 
mostly  this  pathway,  thougli  there  is  an  unpre- 
cedented number  of  intentional  deaths  of  all 
kinds. 

This  morning's  paper  records  the  suicide  of 
a  Frenchman,  who  half  reconciled  me  to  his 
view,  by  the  cheerful,  intelligent  way  in  wdiicli 
he  spoke.  He  left  a  letter  stating  that  he  died 
with  no  ill  feeling  toward  any  one,  and  full  of 
faith  in  God  as  a  Father ;  that  he  did  not  con- 
sider that  he  was  to  blame  for  Avhat  he  was 
about  to  do,  as  he  had  tried  m  vain  to  get  work, 
—  probably  because  he  was  wholly  deaf.  He 
made  so  little  fuss  about  what  almost  every  one 
would  have  considered  a  terrible  calamity, — 
that  his  life  should  end  in  this  way,  —  that  it 
seemed  a  pity  it  could  not  otherwise  have  been 
made  known  what  kind  of  a  man  he  was.  He 
gave  a  little  account  of  himself,  beginning,  "  I 
was  born  in  the  province  of  Haute  Vienne,  in 
France,  and  have  lived  mostly  at  the  mines," 
going  on  to  speak  as  quietly  of  what  he  was 
about  to  do,  as  he  might  if  he  were  going  to 
move  from  one  town  to  another,  not  having  sue- 


SUICIDES. 


209 


ceeded  in  the  first ;  ending  by  saying,  "  I  have 
taken  the  poison, — an  acid  taste,  but  not  dis- 
agreeable." He  made  only  one  request,  —  that 
a  package  of  old  letters  should  be  laid  on  his 
breast,  and  buried  with  him.  A  valuable  mem- 
ber of  society  might  have  been  saved,  if  the  re- 
sult in  his  case  could  have  been  the  same  as 
with  a  man  we  knew  in  Santa  Barbara,  who,  be- 
coming discouraged  by  continual  rheumatism, 
combined  with  poverty,  took  a  large  dose  of 
strychnine,  with  suicidal  intent,  but,  to  his  as- 
tonisliment,  was  entirely  cured  of  his  rheuma- 
tism ;  and  the  notoriety  he  acquired  presently 
procured  liim  an  abundance  of  work. 

In  the  winter  a  man  who  called  himself  Pro- 
fessor Blake,  a  "  mind-reader,"  gave  some  ex- 
hibitions of  his  power,  which  were  considered 
wonderful.  It  might  have  been  better  for  him, 
however,  not  to  know  what  people  thought,  as 
it  proved.  A  few  weeks  ago  a  man  was  dis- 
covered dead,  with  this  letter  beside  him :  "  I 
die  of  a  weary  and  a  heavy  heart,  but  of  a  sound 
mind.  If  there  should  be  one  or  two  persons 
to  whom  I  should  be  known,  let  them,  out  of 
charity  to  the  living,  withhold  their  knowledge. 
Should  my  eyes  be  open,  close  them,  that  I 
may  not  chance,  even  in  death,  to  see  any  more 
of    this  hated   world."     Notwithstanding    his 


Il-   ■ 


U-i 


210 


MISSION  DOLORES. 


wish,  of  course  every  effort  was  made  to  find 
out  who  he  was ;  and  it  proved  to  be  this  "  mind- 
reader." 

These  cases  are  ver}^  depressing  to  think  of; 
only  that  it  makes  one  feel  more  certain  of 
another  life,  to  see  how  unfinished  and  unsatis- 
factory some  things  are  here. 

Sept.  G,  1876. 

I  have  found  two  beautiful  places  to  visit,  — 
the  old  Spanish  gravej'ard  of  the  Mission  Dolo- 
res, and  Lone  Mountain  Cemetery.  They  have 
long,  deep  grass,  and  bright,  exquisite  flowers. 
On  the  waste  tracks  about  the  cemetery,  I  can 
still  find  the  fragrant  little  yerha  buena  (good 
herb),  from  which  the  Spanish  Fathers  named 
the  spot  where  San  Francisco  now  stands,  in 
the  primitive  times,  long  before  gold  was  dis- 
covered. The  cross  on  the  summit  of  Lone 
Mountain,  erected  by  the  Franciscan  friars,  is 
quite  impressive  from  its  height  and  size.  It  is 
seen  from  all  parts  of  the  city. 

The  Mission  Dolores  (Mission  of  our  Lady 
of  Sorrow)  is  south  of  the  city,  sheltered  from 
the  wind,  with  a  clear  stream  flowing  near. 
The  fathers  displayed  their  customary  shrewd- 
ness in  the  selection  of  this  situation.  The 
bleak  sandhills  to  the  north  they  left  for  the 
future  city,  and  settled  themselves  in  this  pleas- 


FATHER  PKDRO  FONT. 


211 


ant  valley.  The  pioneer  missionary  of  North«^rn 
California  —  Father  Junipero  Serra,  that  rigor- 
ous old  Spaniard  wl o  used  to  heat  his  breast 


with  ston 


lis 


lied  1 


nnise 


If  1 


lere,  wi 


th  1 


us 


I 


—  establi 
'raneiscau  monks,  in  the  fall  of  177(3.     His  old 


church  is  still  standing, — an  adobe  building, 
with  earthen  floor,  the  walls  and  ceiling  covered 
with  rude  paintings  of  saints  and  angels. 

The  Presidio  of  San  Francisco  was  estab- 
lished in  the  spring  preceding,  by  a  colony  sent 
out  by  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  accompanied  by 
a  military  command.  Father  Pedro  Font  came 
with  the  expedition.  He  was  a  scientific  man, 
and  recorded  his  observations  of  the  country 
and  the  people.  Just  before  starting,  a  mass 
was  sung  for  their  happy  journey,  to  the  Most 
Blessed  Virgin  of  Guadalupe,  whom  they  chose 
for  their  patroness,  together  witli  the  Archan- 
gel Michael  and  their  Father  Saint  Francis. 

When  they  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  Gila 
River,  the  governors  of  several  of  the  rancheriiis 
came  out  to  meet  them,  with  the  alcalde,  and  .i 
body  of  Pimas  Indians,  mounted  on  horses, 
who  presented  them  with  the  scalps  of  several 
Apaches  they  had  slain  the  day  before.  At  the 
next  stopping-place  along  the  river,  they  were 
met  bv  about  a  thousand  Indians,  who  were 
very   hospitable,   and    made   a  great    shed  of 


I  if 


212 


FATHER  PEDRO  FONT. 


green  boughs  for  tliem,  in  which  to  pass  the 
night. 

Father  Pedro  observed  that  tlie  country  must 
formerly  liuve  been  inliabited  by  a  different 
race,  as  the  ground  was  strewn  willi  fragments 
of  painted  earthenware,  wliieh  the  Timas  did 
not  understand  making.  He  saw  also  the  ruins 
of  an  ancient  building,  with  walls  four  and  six 
feet  thick.  On  tlie  east  and  west  sides  were 
round  openings,  through  which,  according  to 
the  Indian  traditions,  the  prince  who  lived 
there  used  to  salute  the  rising  and  setting  sun. 

The  company  travelled  on,  singing  masses, 
and  resting  by  the  way,  until  they  reached  what 
Father  Pedro  called  "  a  miracle  of  Nature,  tlie 
port  of  ports"  (San  Francisco  Bay).  IJe  as- 
cended a  table-land,  that  ended  in  a  steep  white 
rock,  to  admire  what  he  calls  the  "  delicious 
view,"  —  including  the  bay  and  its  islands,  and 
the  ocean,  with  the  Faralions  in  the  distance, 
of  which  he  made  a  sketch.  He  mentioned 
Angel  Island,  which  still  bears  that  name.  The 
commandant  planted  a  cross  on  the  steep  white 
rock,  as  the  symbol  of  possession,  and  also  at 
Point  Reyes  (Point  of  Kings),  and  selected  the 
table-land  for  the  site  of  the  Presidio.  Father 
Font  explored  the  country  about  the  bay,  and 
made  some  surveys.     He  noticed  some  Indians 


CHRISTIANIZING   THE  INDIANS. 


213 


witli  launclies  made  of  tides  (Inilrushes),  in 
which  they  navigiitecl  the  streams. 

It  would  have  been  fortunate  for  the  Indians 
if  all  the  priests  sent  among  them  had  been  of 
as  gentle  a  spirit  as  Father  Pedro.  lie  says,  in 
his  account  of  this  expedition,  that  they  re- 
ceived him  everywhere  with  demonstrations  of 
joy,  with  dancing  and  singing.  But,  some  years 
after,  we  liear  that  the  soldiers  were  sent  out 
from  the  Presidio  to  lasso  the  Indians.  They 
were  brought  in  like  wild  beasts,  innnediately 
baptized,  and  their  Christianization  commenced. 
Kotzebue,  one  of  the  early  Russian  explorers, 
says  that  in  his  time  (1824)  he  saw  them  at 
Santa  Clara  driven  into  the  church  like  a  flock 
of  sheep,  by  an  old  ragged  Spaniard,  armed 
with  a  stick.  Some  of  the  more  humane  priests 
complained  bitterly  of  this  violent  method  of 
converting  the  heatlien,  and  insisted  that  all 
the  Indians  who  had  been  brought  in  by  force 
should  be  restored  "  to  their  gentile  condition." 

In  the  old  Mission  of  Santa  Barbara,  we  saw 
some  of  the  frightful  pictures  considered  so 
very  effective  in  converting  them.  One  special 
painting,  representing  in  most  vivid  colors  the 
torments  of  hell,  was  said  of  itself  alone  to  have 
led  to  hosts  of  conversions ;  but  a  picture  of 
paradise,  in  the  same  church,  which  was  very 


,51  •• 


214 


Tin:  MISSIONS. 


subdued  in  its  treatment  and  coloring,  had 
failed  to  produce  any  efiect. 

The  services  of  the  Indians  belonged  for  life 
to  the  missions  to  whicli  they  were  attached. 
They  were  taught  many  useful  things.  They 
watered  and  kept  the  gardens  and  fields  of 
grain,  and  tended  the  immense  herds  of  cattle 
that  roamed  over  the  hills.  Traders  came  to  the 
coast  to  buy  hides  and  tallow  from  the  ranches 
and  the  missions,  and  the  product  of  their 
fields.  For  seventy  years,  these  old  monks, 
supported  by  Spain,  were  the  rulers  of  Calitbr- 
nia.  Spain's  foreign  and  colonial  troubles, 
however,  led  her  to  api)ropriate  to  other  pur- 
poses the  "  Pious  Fund  "  by  which  the  missions 
were  maintained.  Jealousy  of  their  growing 
power,  and  revolutions  in  Mexico,  hastened 
their  downfall.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  1848 
introduced  the  element  whicli  was  to  prove 
their  final  destruction. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  first  adventurer 
who  ever  set  foot  n  this  soil.  Sir  Francis  Drake, 
although  he  w  *>;  here  for  only  a  month,  repair- 
ing his  ship,  became  convinced  that  there  was 
no  earth  about  here  but  had  some  probable 
show  of  gold  or  silver  in  it.  If  news  had  spread 
the^n  as  rapidly  as  now,  in  these  days  of  news- 
papers and  telegraphs,  it  would  not  have  lain 


cnisiisi:  FEAST  OF  Tin-:  dead. 


215 


two  ImiHlrod  and  seventy  years  untoucliecl,  aiitl 
then  been  discovuiuJ  only  by  accident. 

Nov.  .'5,  ISTO. 

A  few  days  ago,  I  wandered  on  to  the  soli- 
tary Chinese  quarter  of  Lone  Mountain,  and 
happened  upon  the  celebration  of  the  Feast  of 
tlie  Dead.  Hundreds  and  liundreds  of  China- 
men were  bowing  over  the  graves  in  the  sand. 
Each  grave  had  on  it  little  bright-colored  tapers 
burning,  sometimes  large  fires  beside,  made  of 
the  red  and  silver  paper  they  use  at  the  New 
Year.  Each  had  curious  little  cups  and  teapots 
and  chop-sticks,  rice,  sugar-cane,  and  roast  chick- 
en. I  saw  some  little  white  cakes,  inscribed  with 
red  letters,  similar  to  cliildren's  Christmas  cakes 
with  names  on  them.  Every  thing  that  seems 
nice  to  a  Chinaman  was  there.  They  were  so 
engrossed  in  what  they  were  doing,  that  they 
took  no  notice  whatever  of  my  observation  of 
them.  At  each  grave  they  spread  a  mat,  and 
arranged  the  food.  Then  some  one  that  T  took 
for  the  nearest  friend  chisped  his  hands,  and 
bowed  in  a  sober,  reverent  way  over  the  grave ; 
then  poured  one  of  the  little  cups  of  rice  wine 
out  on  the  sand.  It  reminded  me  of  the  offer- 
ings I  saw  made  to  the  spirit  of  the  dead  Indian 
child,  at  Port  Townsend.     Then  two  dead  men 


©■■i 


.3 


|[ 


216 


CHINESE  FEAST  OF  THE  DEAD. 


\.\  1 


'i 


if 


were  brought  out  to  be  buried,  v/hile  we  stood 
there ;  and  the  iustiuit  they  were  covered  with 
the  sand,  tlie  Cliiiiamen  called  to  each  otiier, 
"  fy'  fy  •  "  (tliiitjk,  quick ! ),  —  U\  light  the  fire, 
as  if  it  were  to  guide  them  on  the  way,  as  the 
Indians  think.  They  threw  into  the  air  a  great 
many  little  papers.  I  asked  if  chose  were  let- 
ters to  the  dead  Chinamen,  and  they  said, 
"  Yes,  "  —  but  I  am  not  sure  if  they  understood 
me. 

It  produced  such  a  strange  effect,  in  this 
wild,  desert-looking  place,  to  see  all  these  cu- 
rious movements,  and  the  fires  and  the  feasts 
on  the  graves,  that  I  feit  utterly  lost.  It  was 
as  if  I  had  stepped,  for  a  few  moments,  into 
another  wo  ad. 

The  Chinamen  are  so  very  saving,  never 
wasting  any  thing,  and  they  have  to  work  so 
hard  for  all  their  money,  and  pay  such  high 
duty  on  the  things  they  import  from  home,  that 
they  would  not  incur  all  this  expense  unless 
they  felt  sure  that  it  answered  some  end.  It 
is  a  matter  for  endless  pondering  what  they 
really  believe  about  it.  They  are  satisfied  with 
a  very  poor,  little,  frugal  meal  for  themselves ; 
but  on  this  occasion  every  thing  was  done  in 
the  greatest  style.  At  one  place  was  a  whole 
pig,  roat;ted  and  varnished ;  and  QNi^ry  grave  iiad 


1-- 


i 


CHINESE  FEAST  OF  THE  DEAD. 


217 


a  fat,  roasted  chicken,  with  its  heivd  on,  and 
dressed  and  ornamented  in  tlie  most  fanciful 
manner.  The  red  paper  which  they  use  for 
visiting- jards  at  the  New  Year,  and  seem  to  be 
very  choice  of  then,  they  sacrificed  in  the  most 
lavish  way  at  this  time.  They  fired  off  a  great 
many  crackers  to  keep  off  bad  spirits. 

Most  of  the  graves  were  only  little  sand- 
mounds  for  temporary  use,  until  the  occupants 
should  be  carried  back  to  China ;  but  one  was 
a  great  semi-circular  vault,  so  grand  and  sub- 
stantial-looking that  it  suggested  the  Egyptian 
Catacombs.  Over  one  division  of  the  grave- 
yard, I  saw  a  notice  which  I  could  partly  read, 
saying  that  no  woman  or  child  could  be  buried 
there. 

The  Chinese  are  so  out  of  favor  here  now, 
that  the  State  Government  is  trying  to  limit  the 
number  that  shall  be  allowed  to  come.  About 
a  thousand  ariive  on  eacli  steamer.  How  fool- 
ish it  sooms  to  be  afraid  of  them,  cspbcially 
for  their  good  qualities !  the  chief  complaint 
against  them  being  that  they  are  so  industrious, 
econonical,  and  persevering,  that  sooner  or  later 
all  the  work  here  will  fall  into  their  hands. 

Jan.  {),  1877. 

We  have  been  having  some  very  strange 
weather  here,  —  earthquake  weather,  it  is  called 


218 


CURIOVS    WEATHER. 


by  some  persons.  Jt  seems  as  if  it  came  from 
internal  fires.  It  Jias  been  so  warm  at  night 
that  we  could  not  sleep,  even  with  two  open 
windows. 

The  chief  thouglit  of  every  one  is,  "  When  will 
it  rain  ?  "  Prayers  are  offered  in  the  churches 
for  rain.  It  is  also  the  subject  of  betting  \  and 
the  paper  this  morning  said  that  several  of  the 
prominent  stockbrokers  were  confined  to  their 
rooms,  with  low  spirits,  on  account  of  the  co.; 
dition  of  stocks,  caused  by  the  general  de|  j.^ 
sion  from  the  dry  season.  We  watch  the  sky 
a  good  deal.  Strange  clouds  appear  and  disap- 
pear, but  nothing  comes  of  them.  To-day,  v/hen 
I  first  looked  out  of  my  window,  there  were  two 
together,  before  it,  most  human-like  in  appear- 
ance, that  seemed  to  hold  out  their  arms,  as  if 
in  appeal;  but,  as  I  watched  them,  they  only 
drew  their  beautiful  trailing  draf  ery  after  them, 
and  moved  slowly  away. 

TheiB  is  a  curious  excitement  about  this 
weather,  coming  in  the  middle  of  winter.  These 
extremes  of  dryness,  and  this  strange  heat 
at  this  season,  reversing  all  natural  order, 
may  be  one  cause  of  the  peculiarities  of  the 
Californians ;  and  they  are  certainly  peculiar 
people.  I  recently  took  a  little  excursion  to 
Oakland,  crossing   the   bay  by  the   ferry,  and 


f^ 


H 
J 


!ir 


111   to 

and 


NOTICE  TO  PASSENGERS. 


219 


riding  some  distance  in  the  cars.  A  pleasant 
feeling  came  over  me  as  I  saw  that  it  was  like 
crossing  the  Merriniac  from  Newburyport  to 
Salisbury;  the  distance  was  about  as  far,  and 
there  were  the  same  low  trees  and  green  grass 
on  the  opposite  side.  I  felt  quite  at  home, 
until,  on  entering  tlie  cars,  my  eyes  lighted  on 
this  notice,  posted  conspicuously  everywhere : 
"Passengers  will  beware  of  playing  three-card 
monte,  strap,  or  any  other  game  of  chance, 
with  strangers.  If  you  do,  you  will  surely  be 
robbed. "  All  visions  of  respectable  New  Eng- 
land vanished  at  that  sight. 


ii:;|!l    ill  \ 

'  iiiiih;i  ■:      I 


I  heat 

rder, 

the 


XIV. 

Qnong.  —  ITis  Prot^f/^.  —  Hia  Peace-Oifering — The  Chinese 
>"''  t>'eir  Grandmothers. — Ancient  Ideas.  —  Irish,  French, 
a,  vanish  Chinamen.  —  Cliinese  Ingenuity.  —  Hostility 

agai  i  the  Chinese.  —  Their  Proclamations.  — Discrimina- 
tions against  them. — Tlieir  Evasion  of  the  Law.  —  Tlieir 
Perseverance  against  all  Obstacle*.  —  Their  Reverence  for 
their  Ancestors,  and  Fear  of  the  Dead.  —  Their  Medical 
Knowledge.  —  Their  Belief  in  tlie  Future.  —  Their  Curious 
Festivals.  —  Indian  Names  for  the  Months.  —  Resemblance 
between  the  Indians  and  Chinese.  —  Tlieir  Superstitions, 

San  Francisco,  Feb.  20, 1877. 

SOME  time  sinews  we  asked  the  wasliman  to 
send  us  a  new  boy.  One  evening,  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  storm  of  wind  and  rain, 
the  most  grotesque  little  creature  appeared  at 
the  door,  with  his  bundle  under  his  arm,  as  if  he 
were  sure  of  being  accepted.  We  thought  we 
must  keep  him  for  a  day  or  two,  on  account  of 
the  weather,  and  just  to  show  him  that  he  could 
not  do  what  we  wanted ;  but  he  proved  too 
amusing  for  us  to  think  of  letting  him  go.  His 
name  is  Quong.  He  is  shorter  than  Margie, 
who  is  only  nine,  and  has  much  more  of  a  baby 

220 


■i  to . 


m 


QUOVG'S  PROTEGE. 


221 


face,  but  a  great  deal  of  dignity ;  and  he  as- 
sures me,  when  they  go  out  together,  that  lie 
shall  take  good  care  of  Margie  and  the  baby, 
and  if  there  is  any  trouble  he  will  call  the  po- 
lice. We  felt  a  little  afraid  to  trust  them  with 
him  at  first,  because  the  Chinese  are  so  often 
attacked  in  the  streets ;  but  he  has  unbounded 
confidence  in  the  police,  and  has  a  little  whistle 
with  which  to  call  them.  It  reminds  me  of 
Robin  Hood ;  he  takes  such  great  pleasure  in 
making  use  of  it,  and  comes  out  so  safe  from  all 
dangers  by  the  help  of  it. 

The  first  Sunday  that  he  v/as  here,  we  told 
hi"^i  that  he  could  go  out  for  a  while,  as  all  the 
Chine.'ie  do  on  that  day.  Wlien  he  came  back, 
I  asked  him  where  he  had  been.  These  little 
boy  are  all  petted  a  good  deal  at  the  wash- 
houses,  and  I  supposed  he  had  been  there  en- 
joying himself.  But  he  said  that  he  went 
every  Sunday  to  see  a  small  boy  that  he  had 
cliarge  of,  who  was  too  young  to  work ;  that  he 
sent  him  now  to  school,  but  next  year  he  should 
tell  him,  "  No  work,  no  eat ;  "  and,  if  he  did  not 
do  something  to  support  himself,  he  should  not 
give  him  clothes  any  more.  I  re^iiember  read- 
ing that  the  Chinese  were  considered  men  at 
fourteen.  It  is  very  comical  to  see  such  a  little 
creature  assume  these  responsibilities,  and  take 


: 


222 


ni3  BUOTANCY. 


i  ' 


such  pride  in  them.  He  says  that  he  is  ten,  but 
his  face  is  perfectly  infantine ;  and  he  is  a  baby 
too  in  his  plays.  He  rolls  and  tumbles  about 
like  a  young  dog  or  kitten.  If  it  rains,  he 
seems  like  a  wild  duck,  he  is  so  pleased  with 
it ;  and  then,  when  the  sun  comes  out,  he  hardly 
knows  how  to  express  his  enjoyment  of  it ; 
he  looks  at  me  with  such  a  radiant  face,  saying, 
*'  Oh,  nice  sun,  nice  !  "  I  feel  ready  at  tLat 
moment  ^o  forgive  him  for  every  thing  that  we 
ever  have  to  blame  him  for,  —  such  a  sun  seems 
to  shine  out  of  him  ;  and  I  feel  as  if  we  made  a 
mistake  to  be  critical  about  his  little  faults, 
which  are  mainly  attributable  to  his  extreme 
youth. 

He  has  lately  bean  away  to  celebrate  the  new 
year.  "  Going  home  to  China, "  he  calls  it, 
because  at  that  time  the  Chinese  eat  their 
national  food,  and  observe  their  own  customs. 
We  told  him,  before  he  left,  that  he  must  be 
sure   to    come   back   in   two   days ;   but   three 

passed,  with  no  sign  of  him.     Then  R went 

down  to  the  wash-house,  and  left  word  that  he 
must  come  directly  back.  In  the  course  of  the 
afternoon,  he  walked  in.  The  moment  he 
opened  the  door,  we  said  to  him,  very  severely, 
*'  What  for  you  stop  too  hmg  ?  "  But  he  walked 
up  to  me,  without  a  word,  and  put  down  before 


niS  PEACE-OFFERING. 


223 


me  a  little  dirty  handkerchief,  all  tied  up  in 
knots,  which  I  finally  made  up  my  mind  to 
open.  It  was  full  of  the  most  curious  sweet- 
meats and  candy, — little  curls  of  cocoanut, 
frosted  with  sugar ;  queer  fruits,  speckled  with 
seeds ;  and  some  nuts  that  looked  exactly  like 
carved  ram's-heads  with  horns.  We  had  to 
accept  this  as  a  peace-offering,  and  put  aside 
our  anger. 

He  is  much  pleased  to  be  where  there  is  a 
woman.  Although  he  is  so  young,  he  says  that 
he  has  lived  generally  only  with  men,  —  Span- 
ish men,  he  says,  where  there  was  "  too  much 
tree. "  I  suppose  it  was  some  rather  unsettled 
place,  —  a  sheep-ranch,  perhaps. 

He  is  so  unsophisticated  that  he  will  answer 
all  our  questions,  as  the  older  ones  will  not,  if 
they  can.  I  asked  him,  one  day,  about  the  cere- 
monies that  I  saw  at  Lone  Mountain, — what 
they  burned  the  red  and  silver  paper  on  the 
graves  for ;  and  he  said  that  in  the  other  world 
the  Chinamen  were  dressed  in  paper,  and,  if  they 
did  not  burn  some  for  them  on  their  graves, 
they  would  not  have  any  clothes.  I  told  him  I 
saw  a  boy  kneel  dovv^n  on  a  grave,  and  take  a 
cup  of  rice  wine,  and  sip  a  little,  and  theii  pour 
it  out  on  the  sand.  He  said,  Oh,  no,  that  he 
did  not  drink  any,  only  put  it  to  his  lips,  and 


' 


224 


CHINESE  GRANDMOTHERS. 


II  •; 


said,  "Gootl-by,  good-by, "  because  the  dead 
Chinaman  would  come  no  more. 

Whenever  he  speaks  of  any  thing  mysterious, 
we  can  see,  by  the  darkening  of  his  face,  how 
he  feels  the  awe  of  it.  One  of  his  friends,  in 
hurrying  to  get  his  ironing  done,  to  get  ready 
to  celebrate  the  new  year,  brought  on  an  attack 
of  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs.  Of  course,  it  was 
necessary  to  keep  him  entirely  still,  which  his 
companions  knew ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  they 
were  so  afraid  that  he  might  die  where  he  was, 
that  they  insisted  on  carrying  him  to  another 
place,  a  long  way  off,  which  killed  him.  For, 
they  said,  if  he  died  at  the  wash-house,  he  would 
come  back  there ;  and  then  all  the  Chinamen 
would  leave,  or  they  would  have  to  move  the 
house.  His  grandmother,  the  boy  said,  came 
back  in  a  blue  flame,  and  asked  for  some- 
thing to  eat ,  and  they  had  to  move  the  house ; 
then  she  came  back  to  where  the  house  stood 
before,  but  could  not  get  any  farther. 

The  Chinese  stand  in  great  awe  of  their 
grandmothers.  In  their  estimate  of  women,  as 
in  many  of  their  other  ideas,  they  are  quite  dif- 
ferent from  the  rest  of  the  world ;  with  them  a 
woman  increases  in  value  as  she  grows  older. 
The  young  girl  who  is  a  slave  to  her  mother, 
can  look  forward  to  the  prospect  of  being  a 
goddess  to  her  grandchildren. 


\  i 


Q  UONG  '<S   OBSEIi  VA  TION. 


225 


w 


ill! 


dead 


March  20, 1877. 

Quong  observes  every  thing,  and  asks  endless 
questions  about  what  he  sees.  lie  says  that  the 
French  and  Spanish  people  here  like  the  China- 
men "too  much"  (a  good  deal)  ;  and  that  the 
"  Melicans  half  likee,  half  no  likee ; "  but  the 
Irishmen  "no  likee  nothing,"  —  seeing  so 
plainly  who  their  true  enemies  are.  Many  of 
the   principal   people   here   are  Irish.     On  St. 

Patrick's  Day,  R told  him  that  he  was  going 

to  take  Margie  to  see  the  procession,  and  that 
he  could  go  too ;  but  he  said,  with  an  air  of  im- 
mense superiority,  that  he  did  not  care  to  go 
and  see  the  "  whiskey  men ; "  he  would  rather 
stop  at  home,  and  do  his  work. 

I   feel   now   that  all  my  responsibilities  are 

shared.    A  while  ago,  R was  obliged  to  stay 

out  one  night  till  twelve  o'clock ;  and,  when  he 
came  home,  he  found  the  boy,  with  his  little 
black  head  on  the  kitchen  table,  fast  asleep. 
When  he  waked  him,  and  asked  him  what  he 
was  there  for,  he  said,  that,  as  every  one  else 
was  asleep,  he  staid  there  to  take  care  of  the 

house.     On  another  occasion,  when  R was 

to  be  out  late  again,  I  took  pains  to  tell  him  to 
go  right  to  bed,  as  soon  as  he  had  washed  the 
dishes.  He  looked  up  at  me,  as  if  he  were 
going  to  suggest  the  most  insuperable  obtitaclo 


{■■V^ 


wm 

ife 


m  ■  ^^ 


226 


ANCIENT  IDEAS. 


to  that,  and  asked,  "  Who  fuff  the  light?  "  (put 
it  out.) 

One  thing  that  I  am  always  very  much  im- 
pressed with,  in  regard  to  the  Chinese,  is  the 
feeling  of  there  being  somethhig  ancient  about 
them,  no  matter  how  young  they  may  be  them- 
selves ;  not  only  because  many  of  them  wear 
clothes  which  appear  to  have  been  handed 
down  from  their  remotest  ancestors,  but  they 
have  ancient  ideas.  This  boy,  although  he  is 
of  such  a  cheerful  temperament,  seems  always 
to  keep  his  own  death  in  view,  as  much  as  the 
old  Egyptian  kings  ever  did.  He  pays  a  kind 
of  burial-fee,  amounting  to  nearly  a  quarter  of 
his  wages,  every  month,  to  some  one  appointed 
by  the  Chinese  company  to  which  he  belongs ; 

and  when  R remonstrated  with  him,  and 

told  him  how  foolish  and  unnecessary  it  was, 
and  how  much  better  it  would  be  to  spend  the 
money  for  something  else,  he  seemed  to  regard 
his  remarks  with  great  horror,  and  said  he  must 
pay  it ;  to  leave  off  wasn't  to  be  thought  of,  for 
then,  he  said,  he  should  have  "  no  hole  to  get 
into  "  (meaning  no  grave),  and  there  would  be 
no  apples  thrown  away  at  his  funeral. 

We  one  day  heard  him  speaking  of  one  of  liis 
countrymen  as  an  Irish  Chinaman ;  and,  when 
we  asked  him  what  he  meant,  he  said  there  were 


IRISH,   FRENCH,  AND  SPANISH  CHINAMEN.     227 


mm 


Irish  Chinamen,  French  Chinamen,  and  Span- 
ish Chinamen.  Our  own  observation  setMns  to 
confirm  this  idea.  We  see  often  among  them 
the  light,  careless  temperament  which  marks 
the  French ;  these  are  tlie  men  who  support  the 
theatres,  and  patronize  the  gaming-dens.  The 
grave,  serene  Spanish  is  the  common  type  ;  and, 
since  the  hoodlum  spirit  has  broken  out  among 
the  Californians,  it  has  called  out  a  coarse, 
rough  class  among  tlie  Chinese,  corresponding 
to  the  lower  grades  of  the  Irish.  To  this  class 
belong  the  "  Highbinders,"  —  men  bound  by 
secret  oaths  to  murder,  robbery,  and  outrage. 
The  actual  crimes  that  can  be  justly  charged 
against  the  Chinese  in  this  country  are  due, 
almost  wholly,  to  the  spirit  that  evoked  these 
men. 

Their  ingenuity  is  equal  to  their  perseverance 
in  accomplishing  an  end.  The  Six  Companies 
having  made  a  regulation  in  regard  to  the  wash- 
houses,  that  there  should  be  at  least  fifteen 
houses  between  every  two  of  them,  one  of  the 
washmen  was  notified  that  -i-i  must  give  up 
his  business,  there  being  only  fourteen  houses 
between  his  and  the  next  establishment.  Al- 
though the  Six  Companies'- directions  are  abso- 
lute law,  he  had  no  idea  of  doing  this.  He 
carefully  examined  the  fourteen  buildings,  and 


228 


HOSTILITY  TO  THE  CHINESE. 


\*.-'  >' 


.if 
'It 


found  among  them  a  deserted  picklo  manufiic- 
tory,  which  ho  hired  for  one  da}',  with  the  priv- 
ilege of  putting  up  a  i)artition  wliieh  would 
divide  it  into  two  houses,  —  in  that  way  fulfill- 
ing the  requirements  of  the  law. 

April  ;{0,  1877. 

There  has  lately  been  a  great  excitement 
about  the  Chinese  here,  and  several  meetings 
have  been  held  to  consider  how  to  get  rid  of 
them ;  and  anti-Chinese  processions,  carrying 
banners  with  crossed  daggers,  have  paraded  the 
streets.  One  night  the  Chinese  armed  them- 
selves, and  went  up  on  to  the  top;  of  their 
houses,  prepared  to  fire  on  a  mob.  '.  '  issued 
a  j)roclamation,  saying,  that  they  were  not  much 
accustomed  to  fighting  (I  remember  learning, 
in  the  geography,  that  they  dressed  themselves 
in  quilted  petticoats  when  they  went  to  battle), 
but  they  should  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  they 
could. 

Another  proclamation  which  they  sent  out 
was  very  characteristic  of  them ;  it  showed  so 
good  an  understanding  of  the  subject,  suggest- 
ing so  artfully  that,  if  the  Chinamen  were  not 
allowed  unlimited  freedom  to  come  here,  Amer- 
icans should  not  be.  allowed  to  go  to  China. 

In  an  "  Address  to  the  Public  "  which  they 
recently  put  forth,  they  explained,  that,  instead 


ARGUMENTS  AGAINST  THEM. 


229 


of  taking  the  places  of  better  men,  as  they  are 
accused  of  doing,  tliey  considered  tluit,  in  per- 
forming the  menial  work  they  did,  they  opened 
the  way  to  higher  and  more  lucrative  employ- 
ments for  others;  saying  several  times,  in  their 
simple,  impressive  way,  "  We  lift  others  up." 

In  regard  to  the  other  chief  accusation,  —  that 
•they  do  not  profit  the  country  any,  do  not  invest 
any  thing  here,  but  send  every  thing  home  to 
China,  —  they  said,  "  The  money  that  you  pay 
us  for  our  labor,  we  send  home;  but  tlie  work 
remains  for  you,"  -  as,  for  instance,  the  Pacific 
Railroad. 

In  trying  to  accumulate  arguments  against 
them,  the  anti-Chinese  party  have  made  a  great 
deal  of  the  fact  that  they  are  bound  to  compa- 
nies, who  advance  money  for  them  to  come  here, 
and  say  that  the  cooly  trade  is  like  the  slave- 
trade.  One  of  the  anti-Chinese  speakers  said 
he  helped  make  California  a  free  state,  and 
seemed  to  think  he  was  employed  in  the  same 
meritorious  way  now.  Upon  investigation,  it 
proved  that  many  of  them  do  mortgage  them- 
selves —  that  is,  their  services  —  for  a  number 
of  years,  to  get  here  ;  and  that  it  is  often  in  order 
that  they  may  support  poor  relatives  at  home, 
who  woidd  otherwise  starve.  This  shows  some 
of  their  heathen  virtues.     A  good  deal  of  the 


ii 

Mil 


230 


DIBCRIMINATIONS  AGAINST  TIIEM. 


t'lif  f 


objection  to  them  seems  to  be  on  tbe  ground  of 
their  being  Pagans ;  some  of  tiie  speakers  saying 
that  it  is  "  so  very  demoralizing  to  our  Christian 
youth,"  that  they  should  be  here,  —  quite  over- 
looking a  very  large  class  of  the  population 
who  are  worse  than  Pagans,  and  vastly  more 
dangerous. 

The  idea  now  seems  to  be,  to  drive  them 
away  by  discriminating  against  them  in  Siiate 
and  city  regulations ;  as,  for  instance,  by  enfor- 
cing the  "  pure-air  ordinance, "  by  which  every 
Chinaman  who  sleeps  where  there  is  less  than 
five  hundred  cubic  feet  of  air  for  each  person, 
pays  a  fine  of  ten  dollars,  but  wliite  people 
sleep  as  they  choose.  Then,  as  they  value  tlieir 
cues  above  all  things,  and  are  greatly  dis- 
graced if  they  lose  them,  —  having  even  been 
known  to  commit  suicide  when  deprived  of 
them,  —  an  old  ordinance  is  restored,  by  which 
every  one  who  is  put  in  jail  must  have  his  hair 
cropped  close.  They  are  often  arrested  on  false 
charges.  Then  a  special  tax  is  levied  on  their 
wash-houses,  and  a  new  regulation  made,  by 
whicii  no  one  can  carry  baskets  on  poles  across 
the  sidewalks  ;  tliat  being  the  way  they  carry 
about  vegetables  to  sell.  All  these  little  teas- 
ing things,  and  a  groat  many  other  annoyances 
wliich  have  not  any  pretence  of  legality,  they 


m'^ 


THEIR  EVASION   OF  THE  LAW. 


231 


bear  witli  patience,  and  seem  in  all  ways  to 
sliow  more  foi-bearance  even,  and  give,  if  possi- 
ble, less  ground  for  complaint,  than  before. 

The  poll-tax,  wIulU  is  levied  on  all  males 
over  twenty-one  years  of  age,  is  rigorousl}^  col- 
lected f-'om  the  Chinamen,  while  no  special 
effort  is  made  to  collect  it  from  the  whites.  In 
crossing  the  ferry  to  Oakland,  they  are  often 
pounced  upon  by  the  collector,  —  in  many  in- 
stances when  they  are  under  age ;  and,  unless 
they  can  show  a  tax  receipt,  their  travelling 
bags  or  bundles  are  taken  from  them,  and  re- 
tained rndl  the  requirements  of  the  collector 
are  satisfied.  Their  wit  and  shrewdness  avail 
them,  however,  to  avoid  this  trouble  ;  and  a 
Chinaman  who  has  occasion  to  cross  the  ferry 
can  usually  borrow  the  tax  receipt  of  some  one 
'vho  has  already  paid.  This  serves  as  a  pass- 
port, as  it  is  not  easy  for  a  white  man  to  distin- 
guish them  as  individuals,  on  account  of  their 
Similarity  in  dress,  manners,  and  general  ap- 
pearance. 

The  police,  being  extremely  vigilant  in  respect 
to  all  violations  of  law  by  the  Chinese,  have 
souglit  out  their  gambling-dens  with  great  diU- 
gence,  and  made  many  arrests.  Tlie  Chinese, 
not  to  be  baffled,  —  besides  resorting  to  laby- 
rinthine passages,  underground  apartments,  bar- 


232 


THEIR   EVASION  OF  THE  LAW. 


t 


I' 


ricades  of  various  kinds,  and  other  modes  of 
secluding  themselves,  to  indulge  in  their  games 
undisturbed,  —  have  adopted  one  medium  after 
another  in  place  of  cards,  substituting  some- 
thing that  could  be  quickly  concealed  in  case 
the  police  should  surprise  them.  At  one  time 
they  made  use  of  squash  or  melon  seeds  for  this 
purpose,  cutting  on  them  the  necessary  devices. 
These  could  be  much  more  easily  concealed 
about  the  fokls  of  their  loose  garments  than 
cards.  When  this  ruse  was  detected,  they  made 
use  of  almonds  in  the  same  way  ;  and,  when  sur- 
prised, hastily  devoured  them,  leaving  not  a  par- 
ticle of  evidence  upon  which  a  policeman  could 
base  an  arrest. 

May  10, 1877. 

One  of  the  strongest  arguments  against  the 
Chinese  has  been  that  they  could  never  affiliate 
with  our  people,  nor  enter  into  the  spirit  of  our 
institutions  ;  that  they  had  no  desire  to  become 
citizens,  and  had  no  families  here.  Now  that 
they  have  petitioned  for  common-school  privi- 
leges for  their  children,  stating  how  many  there 
aiC  here,  and  to  what  extent  thev  are  taxed  to 
support  schools,  there  is  a  louder  outcry  than 
ever  against  them,  for  such  audacity.  They 
are  slowlj'  asserting  themselves,  in  different 
ways,  and  showing  that  they  understand  a  good 


Is  '-• 


PERSEVERANCE  AGAINST  ALL   OBSTACLES.      233 


deal  that  we  thought  they  did  not.  One  of 
tliem  has  now  protested  agrinst  being  impris- 
oned for  violating  the  "pure-air  ordinance." 
The  city  has  made  a  good  deal  of  money  by 
the  fines  paid  on  this  account,  but  it  lias  been 
thought  expedient  to  stop  the  arrests  while  this 
case  is  being  tried. 

Then  they'  are  making  an  effort  against  the 
injur^tice  of  the  city  in  discriminating  against 
them  by  cliarging  more  for  laundry  licenses 
where  the  clothes  are  carried  about  by  liand, 
than  where  horses  are  used ;  in  this  way  obliging 
any  one  who  does  a  small  business  to  pay  more 
in  proportion  than  one  who  does  a  large  busi- 
ness. There  are  a  great  many  large  French 
laundries  here,  that  ill  send  about  wagons. 
The  Chinese  carry  every  thing  by  hand;  they 
seem  altogether  too  meek  and  timid  to  have 
horses ;  but,  as  they  adapt  them.^clves  to  every 
thing,  they  have  looked  about,  and  met  the  iif- 
ficulty,  in  part,  by  securing  quite  a  number  of 
poor,  abject  animals,  with  which  they  are  be- 
ginning to  appear  in  the  streets.  Thero  's  no 
change  they  are  not  willing  to  make ;  their 

patience  and  perseverance  are  unconquerable, 
about  staying  and  going  on  with  their  work. 
As  an  Eastern  writer  said  of  them  :  "  They  bow 
to  the  storm,  and  rise  up,  and  plod  on  in  the 


234 


REVERENCE  FOR  ANCESTORS. 


;  i 


Ih 


I* 


s  I 


intervals."  It  is  very  triio  of  them,  as  we  see 
them  here,  —  so  unreoisting,  and  yet  so  resist- 
less. 

We  have  lately  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 
man  who  has  lived  thirty  years  in  Shangliae, 
who  explained  many  of  their  customs  and  ideas. 
He  confirmed  some  things  that  our  boys  liad 
told  us,  but  we  understood  them  better  from 
him.  He  said  that  the  Chinese  have  sucii  per- 
fect faith  in  continued  life  after  death,  and  in  a 
man's  increased  power  in  another  life,  that  it 
was  not  an  unusual  thing  for  any  one  who  iiad 
some  great  injury  to  avenge,  to  kill  himself,  in 
order  to  get  into  a  position  to  do  it  more  effect- 
ually. To  them  a  dead  man  is  more  important 
than  a  living  one  ;  and  the  one  great  feature  of 
their  religion  is  the  worship  of  their  ancestors. 
They  make  a  great  many  offerings  to  them,  — 
as  we  saw  them  do  at  Lone  Mountain.  If  any 
one  dies  at  sea,  or  in  a  foreign  country,  where 
there  is  no  friend  or  relative  to  do  this  for  him, 
he  becomes  a  beggai  spirit.  It  is  the  duty  of 
the  Chinese  at  Iiome  to  make  offerings  to  beg- 
gar spirits  as  well  as  to  their  own  relatives.  If 
any  great  misfortune  happens  to  a  man,  he 
thinks  he  must  have  neixlected  or  offended  some 
dead  relative,  or  perhaps  one  of  these  beggar 
spirits  i  and  will  impoverish  himself  for  years,  to 


FEAR  OF  THE  DEAD. 


235 


atone  for  it  by  a  great  feast.  T4iey  are  very 
much  afraid  of  the  spirits,  and  buikl  their  houses 
witli  intricate  passages,  and  put  up  screens,  to 
keep  them  from  seeing  what  Iiappcns  ;  and  tlicy 
especially  avoid  openings  north  and  south,  as 
they  think  the  spirits  move  only  in  north  and 
south  lines.  What  is  more  important  than  al- 
most any  thing  in  a  man's  life,  is  to  be  placed 
right  after  his  death,  —  toward  the  south,  that 
he  may  receive  genial  and  reviving  influences 
from  it ;  but  if  he  is  toward  tlie  north,  and 
gets  chilling  influences  from  that  direction,  he 
wreaks  his  vengeance  on  his  living  relatives 
"who  placed  him  there. 

We  learn  a  good  deal  from  the  boys  we  have. 
I  should  like  very  much  to  go  into  their  schools, 
they  are  so  well  taught  in  many  respects.  One 
of  our  boys  once  took  some  fruit-wax,  and  mod- 
elled a  perfect  little  duck.  He  sai<l  he  was 
taught  at  school  how  to  do  it.  He  also  drew 
several  animals  with  an  exceedingly  life-like 
appearance.  This  early  instruction  is  no  doubt 
the  basis  of  the  acknowledged  superiority  of 
the  Chinese  as  carvers  in  wood  and  ivory. 

I  have  often  wondered  that  more  of  them  do 
not  die  in  coming  to  a  climate  so  different 
from  their  own,  and  adopting  such  new  modes 
of  life  as  most  of  them  are  obliged  to  do.     But 


111 


ill 


236 


THEIR  MEDICAL  KNOWLEDGE. 


i 


P 


they  all  seem  to  have  been  taught  the  rudi- 
ments of  medicine.  A  young  American  boy, 
if  he  is  sick,  has  not  the  remotest  idea  what  to 
do  for  himself ;  but  the  Chinese  boys  know  in 
most  cases.  We  have  often  seen  them  steep- 
ing their  little  tin  cups  of  seeds,  roots,  or  leaves 
on  the  kitchen  stove,  which  they  said  was  medi- 
cine for  some  ailment  or  other,  but  "  Melican 
man  no  sabbe  Chinaman  medicine ; "  and  some- 
times, when  they  did  not  have  their  own  reme- 
dies at  hand,  I  have  offered  them  pellets  or 
tinctures  from  my  homoeopathic  supply,  which 
they  could  rarely  be  induced  to  accept,  alle- 
ging that  "  Melican  medicine  no  good  for  Chi- 
naman." One  of  our  little  boys  went  to  a 
Chinese  doctor  for  himself  one  day,  and  when 
he  came  back,  I  asked  him  what  the  doctor 
said.  He  told  me  that  he  pressed  with  his  finger 
here  and  there  on  his.  flesh,  to  see  if  it  rose 
readily,  and  the  color  came  back.  I  saw  that 
he  meant  if  any  one  was  not  very  sick,  that  the 
flesh  was  elastic ;  and  I  thought  it  was  quite  a 
good  test,  and  one  that  might  perhaps  be  useful 
to  our  doctors.  They  have  one  curious  idea  in 
their  treatment,  which  is,  that,  if  any  one  is 
sick,  he  is  to  eat  an  additional  meal  instead  of 
less.  Nevertheless,  they  seem  to  get  well  with 
this  arrangement. 


i  >  rfstfe-li 


THEIR  BELIEF  IN  THE  FUTURE. 


237 


The  belief  in  a  future  life,  and  in  improved 
conditions  hereafter,  seems  to  be  universal 
among  th(;m.  A  poor  Chinaman  was  found 
dead  near  us,  with  a  letter  beside  him,  which 
wjis  translated  at  the  inquest  held  over  the 
body. 

Third  Month,  27th  day  [May  4]. 
To  MY  Father  and  Mother,  —  I  came  to  this  coun- 
try, and  spent  my  money  at  the  gambiing-table,  and 
have  not  accomplished  any  thing.  Where  I  am  now,  I 
cannot  raise  money  to  return  home.  I  am  sick,  and  liave 
not  long  to  live.  My  life  has  been  a  useless  one.  When 
you  have  read  this  letter,  do  not  cry  youjselves  sick  on 
my  account.  Let  my  brothers'  wives  rear  nnd  educate 
my  two  cousins.  I  wish  to  bo  known  as  godfather  to 
one  of  them.  I  desire  Chow  lie,  my  wife,  to  protect  and 
assist  you.  When  you  both  are  dead,  she  may  marry  if 
she  wishes.  In  this  world  I  can  do  no  more  for  you, 
father  and  mother.  You  must  look  to  the  next  world 
for  any  future  benefit  to  be  received  from  me. 

TONG  GOOT  LOON. 


Sept.  10, 1877. 

The  Chinese  generally  appear  unwilling  to 
talk  with  us  about  tlieir  religious  customs  and 
ideas,  apparently  from  superstitious  feelings. 
Occasionally  we  meet  with  an  intelligent  one, 
who  readily  answers  our  questions,  and  tells 
us  about  many  of  tlieir  festivals  celebrated  at 
home,  which  are   not  recognized  here.     Not- 


238 


THEIR  CURIOUS  FESTIVALS. 


I 


withstanding  their  solemn  faces  and  methodical 
ways,  they  are  as  fond  of  celebrations  as  the 
San  Francisco  people  themselves.  They  cele- 
brate the  Festival  of  the  Little  Cold,  and  of 
the  Great  Cold ;  of  the  Little  Snow,  and  of  the 
Great  Snow;  of  the  Moderate  Heat,  and  of 
the  Great  Heat.  Early  in  the  autnnni  comes 
the  Festival  of  Pak-lo,  or  the  White  Dew; 
later  in  the  autumn,  the  Festival  of  Hon-lo, 
or  the  Cold  Dew.  About  the  time  of  our  har- 
vest moon,  the  fifteenth  day  of  eighth  moon, 
they  celebrate  the  Festival  of  the  Full  Moon, 
eating  moon-cakes,  and  sending  presents  to 
their  friends,  of  tea,  v/ine,  and  fruits ;  in  Y  ^b- 
ruary,  the  Festival  of  Rain  and  Water ;  early  in 
the  spring  (the  sixth  day  of  second  moon), 
the  Festival  of  Enlivened  Insects.  On  the 
third  day  of  third  moon  they  celebrate,  for 
three  days  and  nights,  the  birthday  of  Pak 
Tai,  god  of  ihe  extreme  north;  in  spring,  the 
birthday  of  the  god  of  health ;  in  spring  also, 
the  great  Festival  of  Tsing  Ming  (Clear  and 
Bright).  On  this  occasion,  they  visit  and  wor- 
ship at  the  tombs.  In  all  great  festivals  the 
ancestors  must  share.  In  early  summer  occurs 
the  Festival  of  the  Prematurely  Ripened.  The 
hour  for  the  offering  of  each  sacrifice  is  most 
carefully  chosen,  —  that  of  the  spring  sacrifice 
being  at  the  first  glimmering  of  dawn. 


Ik: 


INDIAN  NAMES  FOR  THE  MONTHS. 


230 


This  shows  a^  close  observation  of  nature  on 
their  part  as  the  Indians  disphiy,  and  reminds 
me  of  the  names  the  Makahs  give  to  tlie  months: 
December,  the  moon  wlien  the  gray  whale  ap- 
pears ;  March,  the  moon  of  the  fin-back  whale ; 
April,  the  moon  of  sprouts  and  buds ;  May,  the 
moon  of  the  salmon-berry ;  June,  the  moon  of 
the  red  huckleberry ;  November,  the  moon 
of  winds  and  screaming  birds.  The  Makahs 
select  the  time  of  the  full  moon  as  an  espe- 
cially favorable  one  to  communicate  with  the 
Great  Spirit. 

I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  now  considered 
that  our  Indians  are  of  Oriental  origin.  It 
seems  at  first  as  if  two  races  could  hardly  differ 
more  than  Indians  and  Chinese  ;  but,  after  liv- 
ing long  among  them,  many  resemblances  at- 
tract our  attention.  We  have  seen,  occasion- 
ally, Indians  with  quite  Mongolian  features, 
and  short,  square  frames.  Flattening  the  head 
among  the  Indians  is  considered  a  mark  of  dis- 
tinction, as  compressing  the  feet  is  with  the 
Chinese;  no  shive  being  allcvved  to  practise 
either.  The  reverence  of  the  Indians  for  the 
graves  of  their  fathers  approaches  the  worship 
of  ancestors  among  the  Chinese.  No  outrage 
is  greater  to  the  Indians  than  to  desecrate  the 
burial-places  of  their  dead.     They  often  make 


240 


THE   INDIANS  AND   CHINESE. 


sacrifices  to  them,  and  celebrate  anniversaries 
of  the  dead  with  dancing  and  feasting.  Tlie 
Chinese  feast  tlieir  dead  at  regular  intervals, 
and  carry  them  thousands  of  miles  across  the 
ocean  from  foreign  countries  to  rest  in  llieir 
own  land  at  last.  The  Manitous  (ruling  spirits) 
of  earth,  air,  and  water,  with  the  Indians,  are, 
in  some  respects,  like  the  Shin  of  the  Chinese, 

—  spirits  that  inhabit  all  nature ;  but  the  Shin 
are  inferior  deities,  not  having  much  power, 
being  employed  rather  as  detectives,  —  as  the 
kitclien  god,  or  hearth  spirit,  who  at  the  end  of 
the  year  reports  the  conduct  of  the  family  to 
Shang-te,  tlie  God  of  Heaven.  Both  races  are 
firm  believers  in  the  power  and  efficacy  of 
charms:  the  Chinaman,  in  his  green-jade  brace- 
let, is  demon-proof;  the  Indian  warrior,  in  a 
white  wolf-skin,  rides  to  certain  victory.  Both 
are  excessively  superstitious,  considering  that 
the  ruling  spirits  are  sometimes  friendly,  some- 
times hostile ;  and  feel  it  necessary,  in  all  the 
commonest  acts  of  their  lives,  to  be  constantly 
on  the  watch  to  guard  against  malign  influences, 

—  attributing  great  power  for  harm  to  the  spir- 
its of  tlie  dead.  An  Indian,  like  a  Chinaman, 
will  frequently  abandon  his  lodge,  thinking 
some  dead  relative  whom  he  has  offended  has 
discovered  him  there.     He  is  afraid  to  speak  the 


THE  INDIANS  AND   CHINESE. 


241 


>tly 
ces, 
31  r- 
lau. 


iiig 


name  of  any  one  who  is  dead,  and  often  changes 
his  own  name,  that  tlie  dead  person,  not  liear- 
ing  the  old  name  s[)oken,  may  not  so  readily  find 
liim.  Indians  and  Chinese  are  alike  in  tlio 
habit  of  changing  their  names,  liaving  one  for 
youth,  another  for  manhood,  and  a  third  for 
old  age  ;  taking  new  names  many  times  in  the 
course  of  their  lives,  —  as  after  any  great  event 
or  performance. 

They  resemble  each  other  in  their  infatuation 
for  gambling,  —  a  Chinaman,  after  all  his  pos- 
sessions have  been  staked  and  lost,  sometimes 
selling  himself  for  a  term  of  years,  to  keep  up 
the  game ;  or  an  Indian  gambling  away  a  hand, 
an  arm,  a  leg,  and  so  on,  and  at  last  the  head, 
until  the  whole  body  is  lost  at  the  play,  and  then 
lie  goes  into  perpetual  slavery.  The  Indians 
will  sometimes  gamble  away  their  children, 
though  they  are  usually  very  fond  of  them, — 
the  typical  "  bad  Indian  "  with  them  being  one 
who  is  cowardly,  or  who  neglects  his  children. 


I' t 


; 


I' 


IL 


XV. 

Chun  Fa's  Funeral.  — Alameda.  —  Gophers  and  Lizards.  — 
Poison  Oak.  —  Sturdy  Trees.  —  Baby  Lizards.  —  OKI  .'Ja- 
meda.  —  Emperor  Norton.  —  California  Generosity.  —  Tlio 
Dead  Newsboy.  —  Anniversary  of  the  Goddess  Kum  Fa, — 
Chinese  Regard  for  the  Moon  and  Flowers.  —  A  Shin  Wor- 
shipper. 

Alameda,  Cal.,  April  5, 1878. 

"TTT'E  have  left  San  Francisco,  and  cor/e 
V  V  across  the  bay  to  live.  The  last  thii.^,  L 
did  there  was  to  go  to  a  Chinawoman's  funeral. 
I  saw  in  the  papers  that  Chun  Fa,  the  wife  of 
Loy  Mong,  was  dead ;  and  he  would  lik(3  to 
have  all  the  Christian  Chinese  and  their  friends 
come  to  the  funeral.  I  thought  I  would  go. 
Especially  at  this  time,  when  the  Chinese  meet 
with  so  much  bad  treatment,  we  are  glad  of  an 
opportunity  to  show  our  good-will  and  sympa- 
tliy ;  but  I  did  not  expect  to  be  so  much  inter- 
ested as  I  was.  The  columns  in  the  chapel 
were  wreatlied  with  ivy  and  lilies,  and  every 
thing  was  very  quiet  and  pleasant  in  the  briglit 
forenoon.     One  side  of  the  church  was  filled 

2i2 


if 


CnUN  FA'S  FUNERAL. 


243 


with  rMnese  women  and  girls.  It  is  very  hard 
to  tell  whieli  are  women,  iind  wliieh  are  chil- 
dren, they  all  have  such  childlike  faces.  I 
suppose  it  is  because  they  are  so  undeveloped. 
Tiieir  uncovered  heads,  and  smooth,  shining 
black  hair,  looked  to  me  at  first  all  exactly 
alike ;  all  the  comj)any  seemed  of  one  pattern. 
13 ut,  when  I  had  noticed  them  longer,  I  saw 
some  variety  in  their  manners  and  expressions. 
To  sit  thero  among  them,  and  feel  the  differ- 
ences between  them  and  us,  and  the  resem- 
blances, —  so  much  stronger  than  the  differences, 
—  was  a  curious  experience. 

It  was  a  school,  I  found,  and  Chun  Fa  seemed 
to  have  been  the  flower  of  it.  They  all  mourned 
very  much  at  losing  her.  She  was  the  wife  of 
one  of  their  principal  merchants,  —  but  their 
wives  are  often  children.  She  had  a  sweet,  in- 
nocent face ;  and  we  heard  that  she  was  very 
intelligent,  and  eager  to  learn.  With  her  fair, 
open  look,  it  seemed  as  if  one  could  have  done 
a  great  deal  with  her  in  the  way  of  develop- 
ment. 

An  American  man  first  made  a  prayer  in 
Chinese  ;  then  they  all  sang  — 

"  Shall  we  gather  at  the  river  ?  " 


in  English.     They  sang  with  so  much  fervor, 


244 


CHUN  FA'S  FUNERAL. 


fii 

I- 

\:  . 


♦t  ' 


that,  although  it  was  so  unmusical,  I  felt  more 
like  ciying  than  laughing,  to  think  it  was  for 
one  of  those  Chinese  women  who  have  been  so 
badly  spo-:on  of;  the  papers  often  saying  that 
tliey  are  all  prostitutes,  that  there  are  no  fami- 
lies among  them,  and  that  the  California  people 
must  purify  their  State  by  getting  rid  of  them. 
Tlien  a  serene-looking  Chinaman  chanted  some- 
thing that  sounded  ve^^y  soothing  and  m.usiciJ, 
0nd  another  made  a  prayer.  Then  we  went, 
each  one,  and  took  leave  of  poor  little  Chun  Fa. 
I  thought  I  should  have  been  willing  to  have 
it  my  funeral,  every  thing  was  so  genuine  about 
it;  no  cant,  and  nothing  superfluous. 

We  met  with  cpiite  a  disapp(;intment  in  leav- 
ing San  Franciso-o,  to  find  iliat  our  little  Quong 
could  not  go  with  us.  We  thought  we  had 
obtained  leave  from  the  proper  patron ;  but  at 
the  last  a  brother  appeared  who  claimed  to  be 
superior  authority,  and  forbade  his  going.  As 
he  seemed  a  very  gruff,  disagreeable  pevson, 
and,  as  the  boy  said,  had  never  treated  him 
kindly,  we  advised  him  to  disobey  him ;  ])ut  he 
said  it  would  never  do  for  a  liitle  Chii'a  boy 
to  disobey  a  father  or  an  older  brother ;  but, 
when  he  was  old  enough,  he  would  take  ten 
dollars,  and  buy  it  pistol,  and  shoot  him. 


t  '< 


:1 


'-^"^^ 


ALAMEDA. 


245 


lit 


April  30,  1878. 

We  are  only  an  hour's  ride  by  cars  and 
steamer  from  San  Francisco.  It  is  hard  to 
believe  it,  it  is  so  wholly  different  a  place.  Be- 
fore us  is  a  field  of  blue  nemophilas.  To  see 
them  waving  in  the  wind,  recalled  to  me  what 
Emerson  said  about  its  restoring  any  one  to 
reason  and  faith  to  live  in  the  midst  of  nature, 
—  so  many  trivial  cares  and  anxieties  disap- 
peared at  the  sight  of  it.  On  the  other  side, 
the  water  rolls  softly  up  to  our  very  door.  We 
bathe  in  it,  floating  about  at  will  in  warm  or 
cold  currents. 

The  first  morning  after  we  moved  here,  I 
noticed  two  small  hills  and  holes,  nev/ly  dug, 
beside  our  door.  A  curious  little  head  thrust 
itself  out  of  one,  and  two  small  eyes  peered  at 
me.  They  belonged  to  one  of  the  little  under- 
ground creatures,  called  gophers,  that  we  have 
all  about  us.  They  eat  roots,  and  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  cultivate  any  thing  where  they 
are.  They  appeared  to  have  come  just  because 
they  saw  that  the  house  was  going  to  be  occu- 
pied. I  think  they  like  human  company,  only 
they  want  lo  keep  their  own  distance.  They 
and  the  lizards  quite  animate  the  landscape. 
The  gopher's  wise,  old-fashioned  looking  head 
is  quite  a  contrast  to  that  of  the  lizard,  with  its 


24G 


COMPANIONSIUr   OF  THE    WATER. 


eager,  inquisitive  expression.  There  is  always 
a  little  twisted-iip  head  and  bright  eye,  or  a 
sharp  little  tail,  appearing  and  disappearing, 
wherever  we  look.  They  spend  their  whole 
time  in  coming  and  going.  Their  purpose  seems 
to  be  accomplished,  if  liiey  succeed  in  seeing 
us,  and  getting  safely  away. 

The  wagoner  who  moved  us  over  from  San 
Francisco  made  some  commiserating  remarks 
concerning  me,  as  he  deposited  the  last  load  of 
furniture ;  saying  that  it  was  a  good  place  to 
raise  children,  but  would  be  very  solitary  for 
the  woman. 

It  is  a  lonely  place  here,  but  the  water  is  con- 
stant company.  As  I  write,  the  only  sound  I 
can  hear  is  the  gentle  roll  of  waves,  and  now 
and  then  an  under  sound  that  seems  to  come 
from  far-off  caverns,  —  so  soft  and  so  deep.  I 
never  lived  so  close  to  the  water  before,  so  that 
its  changes  made  a  part  of  my  every-day  life. 
Even  when  I  am  so  busy  that  I  do  not  look  at 
it,  I  feel  how  the  tide  is  creeping  in,  filling  up 
all  the  little  inlets,  and  making  all  waste  places 
bright  and  full.  * 

May  10. 1878. 
We  made  inquiries  of  some  of  the  old  resi- 
dents, in  reference  to  the  wind,  before  we  de- 
cided to  come  here ;    but  people  who   live  in 


POISON  OAK. 


247 


half-settled  places,  I  find,  are  very  apt  to  misrep- 
resent, —  they  are  so  eager  for  neighbors.  How 
much  wiser  we  should  have  been  to  have  con- 
sulted the  trees !  —  they  show  so  plainly  that 
they  have  fought  all  their  lives  against  a  strong 
sea-wind,  bending  low,  and  twisting  themselves 
about,  trying  to  get  away  from  it. 

We  find  that  where  we  live  is  not  Alameda 
proper,  but  is  called  the  Encinal  District,  — 
encinal  being  the  Spanish  for  cak.  I  do  not 
know  whether  they  mean  by  it  the  old  dusky 
evergreens,  or  the  poison  oak  which  is  every 
where  their  inseparable  companion.  Soon  after 
we  arrived,  we  found  ourselves  severely  affected 
by  it.  It  was  then  in  flower,  and  we  attributed 
its  strength  to  that  circumstance ;  but  every 
change  it  passes  through  re-enforces  its  life, — 
when  it  ripens  its  berries,  when  its  leaves  turn 
bright,  or  when  the  autumn  rains  begin.  Every 
thing  suits  it;  moisture  or  dryness,  whicliever 
prevails,  appears  to  be  its  element.  Thoreau, 
who  liked  to  see  weeds  overrun  flowers,  would 
have  rejoiced  in  its  vigor.  We  never  touch  it; 
but  any  one  sensitive  to  its  influence  cannot 
pass  near  it,  nor  breathe  the  air  where  it  grows, 
withmit  being  affected  by  it.  Alameda  seems 
hardly  ready  for  human  occupancy  yet,  unless 
somethincr  effectual  can  be  done  to  exterminate 


i; 


248 


STURDY  TREES, 


!" 


P 


r 


I. 


1 


it.  We  often  see  superficial  means  taken,  like 
burning  it  down  to  the  level  of  the  earth;  but 
what  short-sighted  warfare  is  that  which  gives 
new  strength  after  a  brief  interval !  On  one 
account  I  forgive  it  many  injuries,  — that  it  fur- 
nishes our  only  bright  autumn  foliage,  turn- 
ing into  most  vivid  and  beautiful  shades  of  red. 
Except  for  the  poison  oak,  and  a  few  of  the  long, 
narrow  leaves  of  the  Eucalyptus,  that  hang  like 
party-colored  ribbons  on  the  trees,  we  have  no 
change  in  the  foliage  between  summer  and  win- 
ter ;  there  are  always  the  same  old  dingy  ever- 
green oaks  everywhere  about  us. 

There  are  some  cultivated  grounds  and  gar- 
dens in  the  neighborhood,  but  everywhere  in- 
terspersed among  them  are  wild  fields.  The 
trees  have  a  determined  look,  as  they  stand  and 
hold  possession  of  them.  The  cultivated  ones 
that  border  the  streets,  in  contrast  with  them, 
appear  quite  tame.  I  find  myself  thinking  of 
the  latter  sometimes  as  if  they  were  artificial, 
and  only  these  old  aborigines  were  real ;  they 
have  so  much  Eiore  character  and  expression. 
I  heard  a  lady  criticising  Alameda,  saying  that 
there  were  so  many  trees,  you  could  not  see 
the  place.  We  have  a  general  feeling,  all  the 
time,  as  if  we  were  camping  out,  and  every- 
body else  were  camping  out  too.    The  trees  are 


STURDY  TREES. 


249 


scattiTed  everywhere  ;  and  it  is  quite  the  fashion, 
in  this  humble  part  of  the  town,  for  people  to 
live  in  tents  while  they  build  their  own  houses. 
These  trees  are  of  a  very  social  kind,  bending 
low,  and  spreading  their  branches  wide,  so  that 
any  one  could  almost  live  in  them  just  as  they 
are.  They  are  a  great  contrast  to  the  lira 
which  we  had  wholly  around  us  on  Puget 
Sound.  They  have  strange  fancies  for  twisting 
and  turning.  I  have  never  seen  two  alike,  noi 
one  that  grew  up  straight.  It  is  not  because 
they  are  so  yielding,  —  they  are  as  stiff  and  rug- 
ged as  they  can  be,  —  it  must  be  their  own  wild 
nature  that  makes  them  like  to  grow  in  strange, 
irregular  ways.  Sometimes,  when  I  look  at 
great  fields  of  them,  I  feel  as  if  I  were  in  the 
midst  of  a  storm,  every  thing  has  such  a  wind- 
swept look,  although  it  is  perfectly  still  at  the 
time.  One  day  I  came  upon  a  body  of  them, 
that  appeared  as  if  they  had  all  been  stopped 
by  some  sudden  enchantment,  in  the  midst  of 
running  away.  Often  we  see  trees  that  look  as 
if  they  had  come  out  of  the  wars,  with  great 
clefts  in  their  sides,  and  holes  through  them. 
Their  foliage  is  very  slight ;  there  is  very  little 
to  conceal  their  muscular  look.  It  seems  as  if 
we  could  feel  iu  them  the  will  that  tightened 
all  the  fibres. 


250 


BABY  LIZARDS. 


41 


4 


May  15, 1878. 

The  great  event  to  us  lately  has  been  the 
advent  of  the  baby  lizards.  The  streets  are  all 
laid  with  planks,  clean  and  sunny.  The  lizards 
delight  in  them,  they  are  so  bright  and  warm. 
I  like  to  see,  as  I  walk  along,  these  curious  little 
bodies,  in  old-fashioned  scale  armor,  stopping 
and  1  oking  about,  as  if  they  were  drinking  in 
the  comfort  of  the  sunshine,  just  as  I  am.  Al- 
though they  stop  a  great  deal,  it  is  very  difficult 
to  catch  one,  for  their  movements  are  like  a 
flash.  I  did  succeed  once  in  holding  one  long 
enough  to  examine  his  beautiful  steel-blue 
bands.  The  babies  are  as  delicate  as  if  they 
were  made  of  glass,  and  as  light  and  airy  as  if 
they  belonged  to  fairy-land.  They  run,  all  the 
time,  backward  and  forward,  just  for  the  pleas- 
ure of  moving,  over  the  sidewalk,  and  under 
it. 

When  I  read  in  the  papers,  every  week,  about 
the  people  who  kill  themselves  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, —  and  they  generally  say  that  they  do  it 
because  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  thing 
worth  living  for,  —  I  wonder  if  it  would  not 
make  a  difference  to  them  if  they  lived  in  the 
country,  and  saw  how  entertaining  the  world 
looks  to  the  lively  little  creatures  about  us,  who 
think  it  worth  while  to  move  so  quickly,  and 


SPRING  FLOWERS. 


251 


look  well  about  on  every  side,  for  fear  they 
may  miss  seeing  something. 

July  2,  1878. 

When  we  first  came  here  in  the  spring,  and 
found  the  ground  all  blue  and  yellow  and  white 
with  blossoms,  I  thought  how  interested  I  should 
be,  to  watch  the  succession  of  flowers.  But  that 
was  all.  In  these  dry  places,  we  have  only 
spring  flowers.  I  did,  though,  the  other  day, 
see  something  red  in  the  distance,  and,  going  to 
it,  found  a  clump  of  thistles,  almost  as  tall  as 
I  am,  of  a  bright  crimson  color.  The  fields  are 
very  dry  now,  and  it  seems  to  be  the  season  of 
the  snakes.  Under  the  serpent-like  branches, 
we  find  nothing  but  the  cast-off  skins  of  the 
snakes. 

There  are  some  curious  old  men  here  who 
tend  cattle,  sitting  under  the  trees,  with  their 
knitting.  I  think  they  are  Germans.  They  do 
not  appear  to  understand  when  I  speak  to  them. 
I  thought  they  might  be  "  broke  miners,"  v^ho 
are  generally  the  most  curious  people  here- 
abouts. 

One  of  these"  broke  miners  "  is  employed  to 
take  care  of  two  little  children  near  us,  whose 
mother  is  dead.  He  dresses  them  with  their 
clothes  hind-side  before,  and  liable  i\t  any  mo- 
ment to  drop  entirely  off;  but  seems  to  succyed 


252 


OLD  ALAMEDA. 


n. 


Milt 


■  *■*» 

hi 

i. 


'J 


very  well  in  amusing  them,  quilting  up  his  dish- 
cloths into  dolls  for  them,  and  transforming 
their  garments  into  kites.  His  failing  seems 
to  be  that  a  kind  of  dreamy  mood  is  apt  to  Osteal 
over  him,  in  which  he  wanders  on  the  beach,  re- 
gardless of  hours  •,  and  the  master  of  the  house, 
coming  home,  has  to  hunt  high  and  low  for  him, 
to  come  and  prepare  the  meal.  On  the  last 
bright  moonlight  night,  he  wholly  disappeared. 

Oct.  15, 1878. 

We  have  finally  been  driven  off  by  the  wind 
from  our  cottage  on  the  bay.  Margie  has  been 
so  accustomed  to  moving,  that  she  takes  it  as 
easily  as  an  Indian  child  would.  A  few  days 
before  we  left,  she  gave  me  an  account  of  the 
moving  of  the  man  opposite,  which  was  all  ac- 
complished before  breakfast  in  the  morning. 
First,  she  said,  he  put  all  his  things  on  a  wagon, 
and  then  took  his  house  to  pieces,  and  put  that 
on ;  and  then  he  and  the  wagoner  sat  down  and 
drank  a  pot  of  coffee  together,  and  started  off, 
on  their  load. 

We  did  not  take  our  house  with  us,  but  found 
a  rather  dilapidated  one,  in  what  is  called  Old 
Alameda.  It  is  quite  attractive,  from  the  trees 
and  vines  about  it,  and  the  spacious  garden  in 
which  it  stands.     It  is  owned  by  an  old  Ger- 


OLD  ALAMEDA. 


253 


man  woman,  who  lives  next  to  us.  She  is  rich 
now,  and  owns  the  whole  block,  but  still  holds 
to  her  old  peasant  customs,  and  wears  wooden 
shoes.  Opposite  is  a  French  family,  who  go  off 
every  year  to  a  vineyard,  to  make  wine ;  and, 
next  to  them,  a  poor  Spanish  family,  who  carry 
round  mussels  to  sell. 

March  3, 1879. 

We  have  had  a  real  winter  ;  not  that  it  was 
very  cold  or  snowy,  —  that  it  never  is  here,  — 
but  so  excessively  rainy  as  to  keep  us  a  good 
deal  in-doors.  The  grass  grew  up  in  the  house, 
and  waved  luxuriantly  round  the  edges  of  the 
rooms.  The  oak-trees  surprised  us  by  bursting 
out  into  fresh  young  green,  though  we  had  not 
noticed  that  they  had  lost  any  of  their  hard, 
evergreen  leaves. 

April  10, 1879. 

While  we  were  crossing  the  ferry  between 
San  Francisco  and  Oakland  one  day,  a  peculiar- 
looking  person  appeared  on  the  deck  of  the 
boat,  who  saluted  the  assembled  company  in  a 
most  impressive  manner.  He  was  a  large  man, 
serene  and  self-possessed,  with  rather  a  hand- 
some face.  On  his  broad  shoulders  he  wore 
massive  epaulets,  a  sword  hung  by  his  side,  and 
his  hat  was  crowned  with  nodding  peacock 
feathers.     I   noticed   that  he  passed  the  gates 


254 


EMPEROR  NORTON. 


i 


I 


EH 


fi   ' 


I 


where  the  tickets  are  delivered,  unquestioned, 
giving  only  t.  courteous  salute,  instead  of  the 
customary  passport.  Upon  inquiry,  I  learned 
that  he  was  the  "Emxjeror  Norton,  ruler  of 
California,"  according  to  his  fancy ;  and  that  he 
passed  free  wherever  he  chose  to  go,  —  theatres 
opening  their  doors  to  him,  railroads  and  steam- 
ers conveying  him  without  charge.  He  was  an 
old  pioneer,  distraught  by  misfortunes,  and  hu- 
mored in  this  hallucination  by  the  people.  Ho 
was  in  the  habit  of  ordering  daily  telegraphic 
despatches  sent  to  the  different  crowned  heads 
of  Europe.  He  had  once  been  known  to  draw 
his  sword  upon  his  washer-woman,  because  she 
presumed  to  demand  payment  for  his  washing ; 
whereupon  the  Pioneer  Society,  learning  of  the 
affair,  took  upon  itself  the  charge  of  meeting  all 
little  expenses  of  this  nature. 

The  Califoriiians  have  a  jolly,  good-natured 
way  of  regarding  idiosyncrasies,  and  a  kind  of 
lavish  generosity  in  the  distribution  of  their 
alms,  quite  different  from  the  careful  and  judi- 
cious method  of  the  Eastern  people.  We  hear 
that  some  of  the  early  miners,  passing  along 
the  streets  of  San  Francisco,  just  after  it  had 
been  devastated  by  one  of  the  terrible  fires  that 
swept  every  thing  before  them,  and  seeing  a  lone 
woman  sitting  and  weeping  among  the  ruins, 


\t' 


CALAFORNIA   GENEROSITY. 


255 


flung  twenty-dollar  ^old  pieces  and  little  pack- 
ages of  gold  dust  at  lier,  until  all  her  losses  wero 
made  good,  aud  she  had  a  handsome  overplus  to 
start  anew. 

I  noticed  in  Oakland  a  man  who  drew  the 
whole  length  of  his  body  along  the  sidewalk, 
like  an  enormous  reptile,  moving  slowly  by  the 
the  help  of  his  hands,  unable  to  get  along  in 
any  other  way,  holding  up  a  bright,  sunny, 
sailor  face.  On  his  back  was  a  pack  of  news- 
papers, from  which  men  helped  themselves,  and 
flung  him  generally  a  half  or  a  quarter  of  a 
dollar,  always  refusing  the  change.  That  such 
a  man  could  do  business  in  the  streets,  was  a 
credit  to  the  kindliness  of  tho  people  incom- 
moded by  him.  I  hardly  tliink  he  would  have 
been  tolerated  in  New  York  or  Boston;  but 
his  pleasant  face  and  fast-disappearing  papers 
showed  that  he  was  not  made  uncomfortably 
aware  of  the  inconvenience  he  caused. 

One  day,  while  waiting  at  the  ferry,  I  saw 
two  men  employed  in  a  way  that  attracted  the 
attention  of  every  one  who  passed.  One  of 
them,  who  had  in  his  hand  a  pair  of  crutches, 
ascended  some  steps,  and,  crossing  them,  nailed 
them  to  the  wall,  close  to  the  gateway  where 
the  passengers  passed  to  the  boat.  The  other 
arranged  some  light  drapery  in  the  form  of 


256 


THE  DEAD  NEWSBOY. 


FA  .il'. 


|J:. 


|r 


\r 


wings  above  them.  Below  ^they  put  a  small 
table,  with  the  photograph  of  a  little  newsboy 
on  it.  All  the  business-men,  the  every-day  pas- 
sengers crossing  to  their  homes  on  the  Oakland 
side,  appeared  to  understand  it,  and  quietly  laid 
some  piece  of  money  beside  the  picture.  It 
seems  that  it  was  the  stand  of  a  little  crippled 
boy  who  had  for  a  year  or  two  furnished  the 
daily  papers  to  the  passengers  passing  to  the 
boat.  The  money  was  for  his  funeral  expenses, 
and  to  help  his  family.  It  was  very  character- 
istic of  the  Californians  to  take  this  dramatic 
and  effective  way  of  collecting  a  fund.  Men 
who  would  have  been  very  likely  to  meet  a 
subscription-paper  with  indifference,  on  being 
appealed  to  in  this  poetic  manner,  with  no  word 
spoken,  only  seeing  the  discarded  crutches  and 
the  white  wings  above,  with  moist  eyes  laid 
their  little  tribute  below,  as  if  it  were  a  satis- 
faction to  do  so.  I  thought  how  the  little 
newsboy's  face  would  have  brightened  if  he 
could  have  seen  it,  and  hoped  that  he  might 
not  be  beyond  all  knowledge  of  it  now. 

We  have  had  an  opportunity  to  observe  some 
fine-looking  Chinamen  who  have  been  at  work 
on  the  railroad  all  winter  opposite  our  house. 
There  are  a  hundred  or  more  of  them.  We 
understand  that  they  are  from  the  rural  dis- 


Ki;; 


ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE  GODDESS  KUM  FA.     257 

tricts  of  China.  They  are  Large,  strong,  and 
healthy,  quite  clilYerent  from  the  miserable, 
stunted,  sallow-faced  creatures  from  the  cities, 
of  whom  we  see  so  many,  shownig  that  this 
inferiority  is  not  inherent  in  the  race,  but  is 
the  effect  of  unfavorable  circumstances. 


May  15,  1879. 

Day  before  yesterday  was  the  anniversary  of 
the  birthday  of  the  Chinese  goddess  Kum  Fa, 
or  Golden  Flower,  guardian  of  children.  She 
is  worshipped  chiefly  by  women ;  but  some  of 
the  workers  on  the  railroad  begged  branches 
of  the  feathery  yellow  acacia,  which  is  now  in 
bloom,  to  carry  with  them  to  the  temple  in  San 
Francisco.  They  are  so  unpoetic  in  many  ways, 
that  we  should  hardly  expect  them  to  be  so 
fond  of  flowers;  but  they  mourn  very  much 
if  the  bulbs  which  they  keep  growing  in  stones 
and  water  in  their  houses  in  the  winter  do  not 
open  for  the  new  year. 

The  moon  and  the  flowers  they  enjoy  more 
than  any  thing  else.  In  many  things  they  are 
children,  and  like  what  children  like.  The 
moon  holds  a  very  important  place  to  them, 
and  the  dates  of  the  new  year  and  all  their 
festivals  are  determined  by  its  changes.  We 
used  to  see  one  of  our  boys  standing,  sometimes 


258 


A  SHIN    WORSHIPPER. 


W 


for  hours  together,  with  his  arms  folded,  gaz- 
ing into  the  moonlit  sky.  When  questioned 
as  to  what  he  was  doing,  ha  said  he  was  "look- 
ing at  the  garden  in  the  moon,"  and  listeniiig 
to  "  hear  the  star-men  sing." 

This  boy  a^ipeared  to  be  a  Shin  worshipper. 
He  made  many  drawings  representing  these 
spiri^:s,  with  astonishing  facility  and  artistic 
skill,  but,  when  pressed  to  explain  them,  said  it 
was  not  good  to  speak  much  about  them.  Some 
rode  upon  clouds ;  some  thrust  their  heads  out 
of  the  water,  or  danced  upon  the  backs  of 
fishes;  some  looked  out  of  caves  among  the 
hills.  There  were  serene,  peaceful  ones,  with 
flowers  or  musical  instruments  in  their  hands ; 
others  were  fierce  and  hostile,  brandishing 
weapons,  and  exploding  bombs.  Everywhere 
was  the  wildest  freedom  and  grace,  and  appar- 
ently much  symbolic  meaning  which  we  could 
not  understand. 


'.i'; 


\&'. 


r     i 


EUROPEAN   BREEZES. 

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Mid  her  readers  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  journey  was  a  decided  success."  —  Liberal 
Christian, 

BEATEN  PATHS; 

Or,  A  Woman's  Vacation.    By  Ella  W.  Thompson.    i6mo,  cloth.    $1.50. 

"  I'hc  author  seems  to  have  hit  on  just  the  most  charming  things  to  see,  and  talks  of 
them  in  a  charming  manner."  —  Tribune. 

OVER  THE  OCEAN; 

Or,  Sights  and  Scenes  in  Foreign  Lands.    By  Ci'ktis  Guild,  editor  of  Boston 

Commercial  Bulktm.     Crown  8vo,  cloth.     $2.50. 

"  This  is  certainly  a  collection  of  some  of  the  most  perfect  pen-pictures  of  sights  and 
scenes  irr  foreign  lands  we  have  ever  seen."  —  A  Ibion. 

ABROAD  AGAIN; 

Or,    Fresh    Forays    in    Foreign    Fields.    Uniform  with  "Over  the  Ocean." 

Crown  8vo,  cloth,     $2.50. 

"  It  is  a  chatty  book  with  minute  dcsiriplions  of  many  things  which  cannot  be  found 
in  guide-'xioks  nor  in  more  stately  volurfies.  It  glitters  with  pen-pictures  of  sight  and 
scenes,  manners  and  customs,  atid,  above  all,  of  people  and  theur  homes  and  way  of 
life."  —  Christian  Intelligencer. 


LEE 
C    T. 


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"THE  GREAT  "LAWSUIT;  AS  MARGARET  FULLER  CALLED  IT." 


Common  Sense  about  Women. 


By  THOMAS  WENTWORTH  HIGGINSON. 


x6mo.    Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  These  essays  are  very  short  ones,  no  longer  than  Addison's, 
in  the  Spectator^  for  there  are  105  in  the  space  of  400  not  very 
large  pages,  and  they  present  a  great  many  aspects  of  the  ques- 
tion of  sex,  and  the  minor  morals  of  American  and  English 
life.  Of  course  they  all  take  the  woman's  side  of  the  great 
"Lawsuit,"  as  Margaret  Fuller  called  it,  but  this  is  done  fairly 
and  without  undue  assumption  or  extravagance  in  declamation. 
The  titles  of  the  chapters  are  casual,  and  sometimes  too  ex- 
pressive, but  the  essay  wil'  often  be  found  more  serious  than 
the  title,  though  wit  about. ds  in  the  seasoning  of  this  dish  of 
argument  and  homily." — <lpring/ield  Republican. 

*'  A  thoroughly  good  and  practical  book,  from  the  pen  and 
heart  of  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson.  If  one  of  its  short 
chapters  could  be  read  aloud  every  day  during  the  year,  in  the 
millions  of  homes  in  the  land,  its  power  for  good  could  scarcely 
be  over estimi  ted." — Chicago  Inter'Ocean, 

"  The  work  is  made  up  of  more  than  a  hundred  j  hort,  bright, 
breezy  essays,  exceedingly  readable,  and  well  calculated  to  carry 
conviction  to  a  candid  laind.  The  author  takes  a  common- 
sense  view  of  woman's  position,  and,  though  he  does  not  spare 
sarcasm  in  dealing  with  th  .«se  who  would  deny  her  equal  rights 
with  man,  he  does  not  exalt  her  into  an  angel,  whose  particrpa- 
tion  in  politics  is  to  reform  the  world." — Portland  Transcrtpt, 

"  Altogether  the  book  is  one  of  the  most  practical  and  stroag 
arguments,  based  upon  face  and  common  sense,  in  favor  of  tke 
equality  of  women,  which  we  have  seen.  It  is  without  heat, 
without  rant,  but  it  is  cool,  strong,  to  the  point,  and  on  :ne  scow 
of  justice  and  right,  its  arguments  are  very  difficult  tg  succen* 
fully  refute." — Bridgeport  Standard. 

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receipt  of  price. 


